A French woman endured an 18-hour return flight from Lahore to Paris after sleeping through her stop in the French capital.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) officials are investigating how ground crew failed to notice the sleeping woman during the plane’s two-hour stopover at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
The woman, named as Patrice Christine Ahmed, who is married to a Pakistani national, left Lahore yesterday to fly to Paris via Milan, but did not wake up to get off the plane, an airline spokesman Sultan Hasan said.
The woman did not mention her mistake to cabin crew and the matter only came to light when she was stopped by immigration officials on arrival back in Lahore this morning – after a 12,000km round trip.
Mr Hasan said PIA and the French subcontractor responsible for passenger handling in Paris were investigating the incident.
“We have put questions to this French firm also about the incident but it is also the responsibility of the passenger to disembark at the destination,” he said.
“It is a passenger’s responsibility to check about the destination and disembark when the plane arrives at the particular airport.”
PIA later arranged to send the woman back to Paris with another airline. The passenger was required to pay for the ticket.
“It depends who is at fault. If it is a mistake by the local firm, they will pay and if the woman herself is responsible than she will have to bear the cost,” Mr Hasan said.
AFP