The image, posted by the airline on social media, appears to show the plane flying into the Eiffel Tower, with some on social media comparing the campaign to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York.
ADVERTISEMENTThere has been outrage and dismay online over an ad being used by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to promote the resumption of flights to Europe after a four-year security ban.
An image posted by the airline on social media appears to show a plane flying into the Eiffel Tower, with some on social media comparing the campaign to the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
In a post on X, Pakistani PR expert and former political adviser Omar R. Quraishi slammed the ad as “completely tone deaf” and said it left him “really speechless”.
“Didn’t the idiot who designed this graphic see the PIA plane heading towards the Eiffel Tower? One of Europe’s iconic landmarks. Don’t they know about the tragedy of 9/11 – where planes attacked buildings? Didn’t they think it would be understood in a similar way?” he announced.
The ad was met with a mixture of horror and derision by X users who posted on PIA’s official account.
“Worst ad ever. Looks like you’re trying to fly a plane into the Eiffel Tower,” wrote one user.
“They already lost Notre Dame once – now you’re taking away the Eiffel Tower?” written by another.
While another user posted: “Wait? Is this a joke? Is this from a parody account? I’m honestly confused.”
But others defended the ad, saying it did its job of promoting the new route from Islamabad to Paris.
“Let’s be honest, without the horrible design of their post, none of us would even know that PIA is flying to Paris now,” said one user.
Another posted a picture of Osama bin Laden with the caption “Newly hired graphic designer at PIA.”
Bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, was killed in a US military operation in Pakistan in 2011.
X users also wanted to post an ad that PIA used to advertise its Islamabad-Paris route in 1979.
The black-and-white ad shows the shadow of an approaching plane spread across the two towers of the World Trade Center, which was so suggestive of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that many online assumed it was a hoax.
However, the fact-checking website Snopes confirmed its authenticity and traced it to at least two French magazines, L’Expansion and Le Point.
ADVERTISEMENTFlights to Europe continue
State-owned Pakistan International Airlines resumed direct flights to Europe on Friday following a decision by the EU aviation safety agency to lift a four-year ban over safety standards.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the extension, saying it would help improve the airline’s image.
The flight from Islamabad to Paris was fully booked with more than 300 passengers, the airline said.
Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif inaugurated the twice-weekly flights and promised that PIA would soon expand its operations to other European countries.
ADVERTISEMENTIn his speech, Asif said that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency has imposed a ban on PIA’s operations in Europe due to the former aviation minister’s “irresponsible statement”.
The PIA restriction was imposed in 2020 after 97 people died when a PIA plane crashed in Karachi.
Then-Air Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said an investigation into the crash revealed that nearly a third of Pakistan’s pilots had cheated on pilot exams. A government investigation later concluded that the crash was caused by pilot error.
The ban has caused PIA to lose nearly $150 million (€146 million) a year, officials said.
ADVERTISEMENTNeither French nor Pakistani officials have commented on PIA’s advertising campaign.
