An unusual incident of alleged negligence by the ticketing staff of a private airline, Airblue, was reported at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, where a passenger’s passport was torn, preventing him from traveling abroad.
According to airport sources, the passenger, identified as Qudratullah, was scheduled to travel from Karachi to Jeddah on Airblue flight PA-170. During the ticket confirmation process at the airline’s ticketing counter at Jinnah Terminal, the passenger’s passport was accidentally torn by Airblue staff.
As a result of the damaged passport, Qudratullah was not allowed to board the flight. Despite the incident being attributed to the airline’s own staff, Airblue flight PA-170 departed for Jeddah without the passenger. The passenger was traveling as part of a group heading to Saudi Arabia for employment.
Qudratullah protested strongly at the Airblue ticketing counter, stating that the tearing of his passport caused him financial losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of rupees. Airport sources said that since the passenger missed the flight, the airline refunded the ticket amount.
Officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) confirmed that international travel is not permitted on a torn or damaged passport. They added that Qudratullah would now have to apply for a new passport before he can travel to Saudi Arabia.
The incident has raised concerns over staff handling of passengers’ travel documents at the airport.
