In brief
The promotion for PIA's resumed flights to Paris, depicting a plane approaching the Eiffel Tower, has sparked outrage and comparisons to the September 11 attacks, prompting investigations by Pakistani officials.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is once again at the center of controversy after the release of a new advertisement depicting a plane flying towards the Eiffel Tower, intended to celebrate the resumption of flights to Paris. The ad carries the tagline "Paris, we're coming today," but has drawn significant criticism for its unsettling imagery, with many social media users equating it to a threat rather than a promotional message.The ad has received over 21 million views on social media platform X, where users expressed outrage. One comment questioned, "Is this an advertisement or a threat?" while another user suggested the airline should consider firing its marketing manager. The backlash was so intense that it caught the attention of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who ordered an investigation, and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who also condemned the advertisement, as reported by Pakistan's Geo News.The parallels drawn to the September 11 attacks—where aircraft were hijacked and flown into prominent buildings, resulting in nearly 3,000 deaths—have amplified concerns. Critiques from Pakistani journalist Omar Quraishi further highlighted the airline management's apparent ignorance of historical tragedies. He expressed disbelief that the ad had not been properly vetted, asking, "Do they not know about the 9/11 tragedy which used planes to attack buildings?"While PIA has yet to comment on the incident, the airline’s history of controversial ads raises further questions about its marketing strategy. Notably, in 1979, PIA published another advertisement featuring the shadow of a passenger jet over the twin towers. Additionally, the airline faced ridicule in 2017 for a staff ritual involving the sacrifice of a goat, as a superstition against bad luck following a significant air disaster. In 2019, PIA was criticized for pressuring flight attendants to lose weight or risk losing their jobs. With this latest ad, PIA's reputation remains entwined with controversy.
