PIA under safety spotlight again as aircraft lands on closed runway in Lahore

Coming less than a week after the carrier relaunched international air services to Europe, the safety spotlight has quickly fallen once again in the direction of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The airline is being investigated after one of its flights landed on a closed runway in Lahore whose lights were switched off at the time of the landing attempt. Although the aircraft landed without further incident, questions are already being asked as to just how a severe breach of safety and operating protocols at the company could occur allowing such a significant mistake to be made.

The flight involved was PIA flight PK150 operating from Dammam Airport (DMM) in Saudi Arabia to Multan Airport (MUX) in Pakistan on January 17, 2025. The flight, which operates weekly, had been forced to divert from its intended destination due to adverse weather conditions, which included thick fog, in Multan. The flight was being operated by one of the carrier’s 17-strong fleet of Airbus A320-200 aircraft registered as AP-BON.

The flight departed Dammam at 02:30 local time for the three-hour flight to Multan. However, as the flight progressed and having been advised of the poor weather conditions in Multan, the crew elected to continue to Lahore where the conditions were better. Approaching Lahore Airport from the south, the flight was cleared to land on runway 36R at the airport. However, the aircraft landed on the airport’s parallel runway (36L) at 07:34 local time. While the active runway (36R) had its approach and edge lights fully illuminated at the time of the landing, it is understood that those for 36L were fully extinguished.   

Flightradar24Upon landing, the aircraft continued to roll out as normal and continued under its own power to the gate. However, staff in the control tower who had noticed the error made by the pilots filed an immediate safety report with the authorities. The captain and first officer were subsequently relieved from all further flying duties until a full investigation into the incident has been concluded.

The erroneous landing comes possibly at the worst time for PIA. Having fought for years to be removed from the European Union’s airline blacklist over safety concerns and repeated breaches going back years, the airline had only just recommenced flights to European destinations, with its first flight operating from Islamabad to Paris on January 10, 2025, to much fanfare. The airline also has flights to London-Heathrow (LHR), Manchester (MAN), and possibly Birmingham (BHX) in its sights, and all eyes will be on the carrier as to how these plans coalesce in light of this latest safety breach.  

Omair Aviation / ShutterstockIn the past, PIA became synonymous with serious lapses in safety protocols and oversight. Numerous crews flying with fake licenses, flights departing with more passengers than seats, and questionable maintenance practices culminated in the banning of PIA from the EU by EASA, the European safety regulator in June 2020 following a serious fatal accident involving one of the carrier’s flights.

On May 22, 2020, a PIA Airbus A320 aircraft was operating a domestic flight from Lahore to Karachi when the plane crashed into a crowded residential area near its destination. Of the 99 people on board, 97 lost their lives, while two survived with injuries. The crash also injured eight people on the ground, one of whom later died.

According to ch-aviation, PIA currently has a fleet of 32 aging aircraft comprising 17 A320s, three ATR42-500s, six Boeing 777-200ERs, two 777-200LRs, and four 777-300ERs. The average fleet age is 18.2 years. In 2025, PIA plans to return more previously stored aircraft to service, of which 13 of the 32 are included.  

Speaking about the company’s expansion plans for 2025, in December 2024, a PIA spokesperson said: “With the anticipated expansion of our network and the potential resumption of flights to the UK and Europe, the airline is committed to meeting fleet requirements for its ambitious 2025 operating plan. PIA is proud to maintain notable schedule reliability and an on-time performance exceeding 90%, the highest in the country.” 

Time will tell whether this latest safety breach bears any impact on the carrier’s return to the international fold.  

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