Fly Jinnah flight makes emergency landing in Lahore, all passengers and crew safe

KARACHI: A Fly Jinnah flight on Monday made an emergency landing at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said, adding all passengers and crew members safely off-loaded from the plane.
The flight, FL-846, left Karachi in the country’s south for the eastern city of Lahore on Monday evening, according to the (PAA).
The captain reported smoke in the cargo compartment and gave a ‘mayday’ call at 7:15 near Lahore.
“Fly Jinnah flight, FL-846, safely landed at the Lahore at 7:23 pm,” the PAA said in a statement. “[Officials of] the Airport Authority’s Fire Department were present on the spot to deal with any emergency as per the SOPs (standard operating procedures).”
All passengers and crew were safely offloaded through emergency exit of the plane and at 7:57pm, the fire department cleared the plane following an inspection, according to the PAA.
Officials have ordered an investigation into the incident.
Pakistan’s aviation protocols have faced significant scrutiny since 2020 following a scandal wherein approximately 262 out of 860 active Pakistani pilots were said to have obtained fake licenses, leading to the grounding of around 150 pilots from the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and other carriers.
The revelation came in the wake of the tragic crash of a PIA flight, PK-8303, in Karachi on May 22, 2020, resulting in the suspension of PIA’s operations in the European Union (EU) and other regions and prompting calls for regulatory reforms to improve safety standards and transparency.