Adding to a concerning trend, another flight attendant from Pakistan’s national airline has disappeared upon landing at Pearson Airport in Mississauga. This incident marks the second disappearance of an airline steward in as many months.
Maryam Raza, a flight attendant for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), was part of the crew on Flight PK 782, which recently traveled from Islamabad International Airport to Pearson International Airport, as reported by multiple sources.
However, after the flight, Raza went missing, leaving behind a note in her hotel room expressing gratitude to PIA in Urdu, which translates to “Thank you, PIA.” She failed to show up for her scheduled return flight from Pearson to Karachi, prompting the crew to fly back to Pakistan without her.
Raza’s disappearance is not an isolated incident. She is at least the second PIA flight attendant to vanish after landing in Canada this year, following a series of similar incidents in 2023. Some reports suggest a possible connection to low salaries for flight crews and concerns about the airline’s privatization plan.
However, PIA attributes the disappearances to Canada’s lenient asylum policies. The airline has taken steps to address the issue, including raising the minimum age for flight attendants traveling to Canada.
PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan stated that the airline has formed a task force to investigate these disappearances. Missing flight attendants, if returned to Pakistan, will face severe departmental and legal actions.