RAWALPINDI: A passenger on Thursday set his luggage on fire in protest against his flight being cancelled at the Islamabad International Airport (IIA).

Gilgit-bound Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-607 scheduled for 7am was first delayed due to technical reasons and cancelled later due to bad weather.

The passengers started chanting slogans against the airline and one of the passengers set fire to his luggage.

A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson told Dawn the fire was put out by CAA fire fighters.

A video of the passengers arguing with PIA staff and pushing a senior staffer was uploaded on social media. The protestors were told that a special flight will be operated for them on Friday.

A PIA spokesperson said CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik talked to GB Law Minister Aurangzeb Khan, who was also going to travel on the flight, and told him that the flight had been cancelled due to bad weather. Another GB minister was also accompanying him.

He said the passengers were moved to hotels for the night and assured that a special flight will be operated for them on Friday.

“No airline can risk flying a passenger plane in bad weather,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018