Fact check: PIA did not put up pride flag over its Amsterdam office

An image shared on social media platform X on July 19 showed a pride flag displayed above an office of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), claiming that it showed the national carrier supporting the LGBTQ community. However, the office is long shut down and the flag was placed by the local Amsterdam government.

An account shared the picture with the caption: “PIA supports pride.”

The user did not share other details of the picture such as the location of the office or the time and date the image was taken.

The post gained over 38,000 views.

A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of a claim due to its virality and the contradictory nature of a Pakistan-associated institution openly displaying the pride flag since the country has strict laws against homosexual conduct which is penalised by Section 377 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Contacting PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan for a comment on the image, he said the office was located in Amsterdam and shut down in 2018.

He said that every year the city celebrated the queer festival Amsterdam Pride from July 22-August 4.

The spokesperson said the flag was put up by the municipal government of Amsterdam and shared pictures and videos of the street to corroborate his statement.

Sharing more visuals from the location, he also pointed out that the larger flags had monograms of the municipality and did not represent PIA’s values.

Images showing pride flags at the street with a defunct PIA office in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is known as a queer-friendly city and will host the WorldPride festival in 2026.

The spokesperson further said that PIA had rented out the office to another entity which would remove the national carrier’s name and logo once it was done with the renovation.

Therefore, the fact check determined that the claim regarding PIA supporting the LGBTQ community by displaying a pride flag above its office is false. A spokesperson for the national carrier confirmed the office in Amsterdam was already long closed and the flag was put up by the municipal government.

This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ and UNDP.