The latest Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendant to have disappeared in Canada has done so in style, leaving a thank-you note along with her work uniform in a hotel room.
The flight attendant, identified as Maryam Raza, worked on flight PK 782 from Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB) to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) on February 26, 2024.
Raza, who worked for PIA for 15 years, did not show up during the scheduled return flight, PK 784 from YYZ Airport to Jinnah International Airport (KHI) in Karachi.
Authorities and colleagues initiated a search of Raza’s room at the hotel layover, where it was discovered that she had left a note in Urdu reading “Shukriya PIA,” which translates as “Thank you, PIA”.
Raza’s airline uniform was also found in the hotel room.
Raza is the 10th PIA flight attendant to disappear during a Canadian layover.
Due to the frequency of its flight attendants going missing in Canada, PIA imposed stricter rules on its flights to Canada as of December 2023. These rules require rostering only flight attendants over the age of 50 to Canada and tighter monitoring of crew during layovers.
In January 2024, an airline spokesperson was quoted by Middle East media outlet The Media Line, attributing the disappearances to Canada’s lenient migration laws.
“There is no failure [on the part of the airline] as we have tried to put in the most stringent possible efforts to curtail that. However, the laws of Canada are so liberal that those measures become counter-effective,” the spokesperson said.