Malaysia impounds PIA plane for unpaid dues, leaving passengers stranded

Dhaka: A Boeing Co 777 plane of Pakistan International Airlines was impounded on May 29 in Kuala Lumpur over unpaid charges to a leasing company. This left the passengers of the flight stranded and the carrier was forced to send a replacement aircraft to pick them up.

A Malaysian court ordered the plane to be seized on the lessor's request, reports said citing PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan.

The state-owned carrier will seek legal remedies to free the plane, Khan said, as per reports, adding that the disputed amount has already been paid.

This is the second time in the past two years that a PIA aircraft has been seized in the Southeast Asian nation.

Earlier, PIA had been struggling to overcome its financial problems after the European Union banned its fight operations in 2020 over fake pilot licenses.

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