Official audit documents reveal that more than 20 Pakistan International Airlines workers at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, including three women, are linked to a plot involving the diversion of fees for extra-legroom and premium seats.
Ground personnel gathered additional payments from travelers for bulkhead, extra-legroom, and premium seats on both international and domestic journeys, typically following departure or boarding. Rather than submitting the funds to the airline, they altered system files manually to label the seats as regular and pocketed the cash.
The Lahore Finance and Audit Committee uncovered these discrepancies during an examination of files from May 2024 and May 2025, instructing Station Manager Ashfaq Hussain Awan to launch formal measures.
PIA has since gathered PKR 5,060,269 via payroll subtractions from the targeted workers and placed it in the account. All implicated personnel allegedly stay in their positions. Internal disciplinary actions were mandated by PIA regulations, but additional administrative steps stopped following interference from top officials.
In a separate incident, the Airports Security Force revoked the airport entry pass of a PIA worker accused of providing unauthorized protocol to a traveler at Lahore Airport on May 9, 2026. A May 2026 ASF document reviewed by reporters states he assisted the traveler at an immigration desk on a fast-track basis, termed a breach of state directives regarding the abuse of airport entry credentials.
Talking to reporters, Awan stated the sum was collected from the relevant personnel and placed into the account of PIA. He mentioned one person has since retired, and he has obtained no official notice from authorized management concerning measures against any worker.
