Lahore, October 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
More than 20 employees and officers of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have been implicated in an alleged financial fraud involving premium-seat bookings at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport, with an audit uncovering irregularities worth over PKR 5 million, according to local media reports.
The Lahore Finance and Audit Committee detected the irregularities while examining records for May 2024 and May 2025. So far, PKR 5,060,269 has reportedly been recovered through salary deductions from the accused employees and deposited into PIA’s account.
According to Pakistan’s The News, ground staff allegedly collected additional payments directly from passengers for premium, extra-legroom and bulkhead seats on domestic and international flights. Instead of depositing the money into the airline’s accounts, they allegedly altered the booking system to classify the seats as standard, allowing them to retain the additional charges.
The findings have renewed concerns about internal controls, accountability and revenue protection at Pakistan’s national carrier.
The alleged fraud comes amid broader scrutiny of PIA’s privatisation. An earlier report by the Colombo-based Asian News Post questioned the financial structure of the deal, noting that the Pakistani government had transferred approximately Rs 650 billion in historic liabilities to a holding company, shielding the buyer from much of the airline’s accumulated debt.
The airline’s operating business was sold to a private consortium led by Arif Habib Corporation at a headline valuation of around Rs 135 billion. According to the report, only about Rs 10 billion was expected to flow directly to the state, while the remaining amount would be injected into the airline as equity.
The article argued that taxpayers would continue bearing the legacy debt burden while the buyer gained access to PIA’s fleet, international routes and other strategic assets. It also questioned whether the transaction represented a genuine market-based divestment or a transfer of public wealth under the banner of reform.
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