A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) jet was on Friday impounded by Malaysian authorities, minutes before it took off from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
According to media reports, the Boeing-777 was confiscated over the national carrier of Pakistan’s failure to pay leasing dues to a Vietnamese company, and on the orders of a Malaysian court.
PIA had leased two aircraft, including the Boeing-777, from the company in 2015.
“Flight was ready for departure with passengers on board and when authorities came on board & informed the crew that they are not allowed to depart,” journalist Mubashir Zaidi claimed.
The aircraft’s 18-member staff also become stranded in Kuala Lumpur due to the seizure, and will now quarantine for 14 days as per protocols, Geo reported.
Meanwhile, PIA confirmed that the aircraft has been held back on the orders of a local court in Malaysia that “took a one-sided decision pertaining to a legal dispute between PIA and another party pending in a United Kingdom (UK) court”.
“The passengers are being looked after and alternate arrangements for their travel have been finalised,” read a tweet by PIA.
In a subsequent tweet, the national carrier termed the situation as “unacceptable” and said that the government of Pakistan had been approached to take up the matter using diplomatic channels.
