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PIA Scam: 20 Employees Caught Swindling Premium Seat Money
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News18•20-10-2026, 18:49
PIA Scam: 20 Employees Caught Swindling Premium Seat Money
- •More than 20 employees and officials at Lahore Airport have been accused of defrauding Pakistan International Airlines of over 5 million Pakistani rupees.
- •Employees collected extra money from passengers for premium seats but recorded them as regular seats in the airline system.
- •The financial irregularities were uncovered during an audit of records for May 2024 and 2025 by the Lahore Finance and Audit Committee.
- •The swindled amount has now been recovered directly from the accused employees' salaries and deposited back into PIA's account.
- •The incident highlights severe monitoring flaws in a state-run airline that is already struggling with massive financial losses and privatization efforts.
Key Questions Answered
Employees collected extra money from passengers for premium seats but recorded them as regular seats in the booking system, pocketing or mismanaging the additional revenue instead of depositing it into the airline's account.
More than 20 employees and officials were accused of defrauding the company of over 5 million Pakistani rupees through these booking irregularities.
The financial irregularities were detected during a review of records for May 2024 and 2025 by the Lahore Finance and Audit Committee, resulting in the stolen amount being deducted directly from the employees' salaries and deposited back into PIA's account.
