Rumours the entire crew of a Pakistan International Airlines flight surrendered themselves to authorities after landing in Toronto spread on social media this week.
The rumours claimed the crew members applied for asylum in Canada and the airline suspended direct flights between Canada and Pakistan as a result.
The Canada Border Services Agency said it was unable to confirm the claims, and flight tracking data shows flights between the two countries are operating as usual.
THE CLAIM
This week, social media rumours claimed the crew of a Pakistan International Airlines flight disappeared during a stop at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
“The plane was scheduled to return to Islamabad after a two hour stopover. However, unfortunately, the entire crew of the aircraft, including the pilots, surrendered themselves to the authorities and applied for asylum,” claimed a user on the X platform, formerly Twitter, in a post with around 17,000 likes and 2.9 million views at the time of publication.
“As a result, new pilots were called in, and Pakistani planes will no longer operate direct flights to Canada,” the X post reads.
Other social media users repeated the claim on X, Instagram and Facebook.
THE FACTS
There is no evidence the airline crew left their plane to apply for asylum in Canada.
“The Canada Border Services Agency is unable to corroborate these claims,” an agency spokesperson said in an email.
According to Toronto Pearson, Pakistan International Airlines operates one flight per week from Toronto to Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
The airport’s website shows there is a flight scheduled to arrive at 6:30 p.m. Friday from Islamabad, countering the claim the airline suspended flights to Toronto.
The flight tracking website FlightAware shows there are direct flights scheduled between the two cities on Thursday and Friday.
For its part, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) denied the claims about a missing crew and called the rumours “fake.”
“A tweet, circulated by certain anti-Pakistan quarters, claiming that whole crew of a particular #PIA flight is missing, is entirely baseless. Purpose of this tweet seems to malign PIA and #Pakistan,” the airline said on X.
AIRLINE’S CREW HAVE DISAPPEARED BEFORE
In 2024, Pakistan International Airlines said around eight flight attendants disappeared in Toronto over the past year and a half, and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada.
One flight attendant left a “thank you” note in her Toronto hotel room before disappearing in 2024.
In November this year, the airline said it was investigating after a flight attendant did not board a return flight from Toronto to Lahore, Pakistan, citing ill health.
A spokesperson said the airline attributes the disappearances to Canada’s “liberal asylum” policies, The Media Line reported via The Jerusalem Post.
The airline only staffs its Toronto-bound flights with crew members who have firm links to Pakistan and avoids sending single crew members or those without established family ties, CTV News reported in 2024.
An immigration lawyer told the broadcaster that he represented two of the flight attendants who went missing, and said they sought asylum for claims related to gender and religious persecution, as well as domestic violence.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18, 2025.
Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press
