LAHORE: A passenger who was scheduled to be on Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-8303, which crashed in Karachi on Friday, was prevented from finalizing his booking due to a system error.
Syed Mustafa Ahmed tried three times on Thursday to confirm payment online for his seat 13-A on the flight from Lahore to Karachi, but he was thwarted by a glitch in the online system.
Ahmed told Arab News via telephone he had to be Karachi on Friday before the 5 p.m. coronavirus curfew kicked in and cut off transport links and flight PK-8303 was his best chance.
“I booked myself on seat 13-A, but when the payment option came, there was a system error. I tried three times, but in the last step, the website just wouldn’t let me pay and confirm my booking,” Ahmed said.
A frustrated Ahmed called a friend who worked for a different airline to help him sort the issue out.
“I have a friend who works in Serene Airlines, and I told him I need to take this flight. I asked him for his help with the booking. We tried again, but it just wasn’t happening.”
The A320 Airbus PIA flight Ahmed should have been on crashed into a Karachi neighborhood moments before its scheduled landing with an estimated 98 people on board.
So far, there has been no confirmation on the number of casualties.
