Entire PIA Crew Seeks Asylum in Toronto, Grounding Direct Flights to Canada
In an unprecedented escalation of a years-long pattern, the entire crew of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, including both pilots, surrendered to Canadian authorities and applied for asylum upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport today.
The flight, which had arrived from Islamabad, was scheduled for a two-hour stopover before returning to Pakistan. Instead, in a coordinated move, every crew member on board declared their intention to seek refuge in Canada. The stunning development left the aircraft stranded, forcing PIA to dispatch a new set of pilots to Toronto to repatriate the empty plane.
This mass asylum claim marks a severe blow to Pakistan’s national carrier and has triggered an immediate operational crisis. A PIA spokesperson, in a terse statement, confirmed the incident and the subsequent flight disruption. “An inquiry is being initiated into this matter. For operational and security reasons, PIA has decided to suspend its direct flight operations to Canada with immediate effect,” the statement read.
The incident is the most dramatic in a series of disappearances plaguing PIA in Canada. Just months ago, in November 2025, senior crew member Asif Najam vanished in Toronto after a flight from Lahore. His case was the third confirmed disappearance of a PIA employee in Canada this year alone. This pattern stretches back to at least 2022, with reports indicating at least eight crew members went missing between 2022 and 2023, all suspected of seeking asylum.
While PIA officials have historically cited personal and economic reasons for these defections, aviation analysts point to a combination of factors: Pakistan’s protracted economic instability, diminishing professional prospects within the state-owned airline, and Canada’s relatively accessible asylum and residency policies.
Today’s event, however, shifts the issue from individual acts to a collective workforce action, raising severe questions about crew morale, pre-flight security vetting, and the airline’s operational integrity on international routes.
“The complete grounding of direct flights is a drastic but necessary step for PIA,” said aviation analyst Zaheer Khan. “It’s a major reputational and financial loss, but the airline must now fundamentally reassess its risk profile on Western routes. The trust required for international flight operations has been breached in a most spectacular fashion.”
Passengers booked on future PIA flights to Canada are now facing cancellations and uncertain re-routings. The suspension of direct services severs a key air link for the diaspora and is expected to have significant ripple effects on travel and trade between the two countries.
Canadian authorities have not publicly commented on the specific asylum applications, in line with standard privacy procedures surrounding refugee claims. All eyes are now on PIA’s internal investigation and whether other nations with similar asylum frameworks may review their own protocols regarding inbound PIA crews.
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