After social media uproar, Pakistan’s aviation authority retracts luggage-wrapping policy

In a notification, authority said decision regarding compulsory wrapping check-in baggage at all airports “…to be treated as canceled ab initio with immediate effect.” (Shutterstock)

• Lawyers and environmentalists criticized the earlier notification on mandatory luggage-wrapping policy
• PCAA notification was never discussed with the federal cabinet, says federal minister

KARACHI: After social media outrage following Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority’s (PCAA) decision to make plastic wrapping of all check-in luggage compulsory, the Authority on Saturday retracted its decision.
In a notification, authority said decision regarding compulsory wrapping check-in baggage at all airports “…to be treated as canceled ab initio with immediate effect.”
The compulsory order has come at a time when Pakistan has made moves toward environmental conservation with the government’s Clean and Green Pakistan initiative which includes a ban on single-use plastic bags from August 14 this year in the federal territory, and the launch of the Prime Minister’s drive to plant 10 billion trees over the next five years.
According to the PCAA earlier notification, Pakistan’s airports will create hundreds of tons of plastic waste, which runs contrary to these initiatives.
“The uproar over social media indicates that there are several misconceptions regarding the plastic wrapping of luggage,” Mujtaba Baig, PCAA spokesman, told Arab News just hours before the authority retracted its decision.
“We admit it’s non-biodegradable and thus not completely environment-friendly, but the sheet we use is very thin and can’t be reused,” Baig had said.
Luggage-wrapping was not a new practice, and used by passengers for years before the mandatory notice.
The notification, which came on Thursday, has not gone down well with the country’s lawyers and environmental campaigners who said on Sunday that they would challenge the notice in court.
“There is no provision in international or local aviation laws that mandates the imposition of plastic wrapping on baggage. The PCAA justification of safety and security of baggage is unreasonable and infringes upon travelers’ rights,” Amir Zafar Khan, a lawyer with experience in public interest litigation, told Arab News.
The notification states that charges for the plastic wrapping have been slashed from over Rs.400 per bag to Rs. 50 a piece.
PCAA earlier defended its decision, and said that even though it was aware of climate related issues, the move was necessary for the security and protection of checked-in luggage.
“We want to introduce biodegradable material for wrapping purposes,” PCAA spokesman, Mujtaba Baig, said. “But that will increase the cost of packing.”
On Sunday, Pakistan’s federal minister for human rights, Shireen Mazari, clarified the government’s position on the matter in a Twitter post, and said the PCAA notification was never discussed with the federal cabinet.
“The plastic covering for outgoing baggage notification is wrong. Federal govt was incorrectly mentioned as Federal Govt means Cabinet and no such issue was even discussed in Cabinet let alone decided upon,” she tweeted.