More than 20 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, have been implicated in a scheme that diverted fees for premium and extra-legroom seats, according to official audit documents. Three women are among those named.
The documents state that ground staff collected extra charges from passengers for premium, extra-legroom and bulkhead seats on domestic and international flights, usually after boarding or departure. Instead of depositing the money with the airline, they manually changed system records to show the seats as standard and kept the payments.
The Lahore Finance and Audit Committee found the irregularities while reviewing records for May 2024 and May 2025. Station Manager Ashfaq Hussain Awan was directed to take formal action.
PIA has since recovered PKR 5,060,269 through salary deductions from the identified employees and deposited it into the account. All those involved reportedly remain at their posts. Departmental disciplinary proceedings were required under PIA rules, but further administrative action was halted after senior officials intervened.
Separately, the Airports Security Force (ASF) cancelled the airport entry pass of a PIA staff member who was allegedly found extending unauthorised protocol to a passenger at Lahore Airport on May 9, 2026. An ASF letter dated May 2026, seen by media, says he helped the passenger at an immigration counter on a priority basis, which was described as a violation of government instructions on the misuse of airport entry passes.
Speaking to the media, Awan said the amount had been recovered from the individuals concerned and deposited into PIA’s account. He said one of them has since retired, and that he has received no formal communication from the competent authorities about action against any staff member.