KARACHI: Pakistan’s national airline confirmed on Saturday that it is investigating the case of a flight attendant who did not board a return flight from Toronto this week, warning that action will be taken if the cabin crew member is found to have disappeared “illegally.”

Cabin crew member Asif Najam did not report for duty on the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) flight PK-798 from Toronto to Lahore, PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan confirmed. Najam later told the airline he was unwell when contacted, Khan said. 

“PIA flight attendant Asif Najam did not report for duty on flight PK-798 from Toronto to Lahore. When contacted, he cited ill health as the reason,” Khan told Arab News. 

“The matter is under investigation. If he is found to have disappeared illegally, departmental action will be initiated against the flight attendant,” the PIA spokesperson said. 

In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in Pakistani cabin crew members disappearing in developed countries, especially Canada, during layovers as they seek to escape challenging economic conditions at home. 

In 2023, PIA reported eight of its crew members had gone missing in Canada in a span of two years, a trend that officials at the time linked to what they described as the western country’s “liberal asylum” policies. 

By early 2024, the number of disappearances had risen to 10 as more flight attendants failed to show up for return flights after stopovers in Toronto.

Past incidents include the disappearance of flight steward Jibran Baloch and airhostess Maryam Raza in February 2024, as well as multiple cases reported in late 2023. 

The airline previously said Pakistani crew members were increasingly using stopovers in Canada to claim asylum, mirroring a larger increase in irregular migration to Europe and North America amid high inflation, currency devaluation and soaring living costs in the South Asian country.

PIA has attempted several measures to prevent its employees from disappearing during layovers. These measures include profiling crew members, restricting assignments on Canada routes to those over 50 years old and retaining passports with station managers upon arrival.