The image, posted by the airline on social media, appears to show a plane hitting the Eiffel Tower. Some internet users compared the campaign to the September 11 attacks in New York.
ADVERTISEMENT
An advertisement used by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to promote the resumption of flights to Europe after a four-year ban has sparked anger and consternation online.
The image posted by the airline on social media appears to show a plane hitting the Eiffel Tower. Some netizens compared the campaign to the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
In a message posted to
“Didn’t the idiot who designed this graphic see a PIA plane heading towards the Eiffel Tower? One of the most iconic monuments in Europe. Don’t they know about the tragedy of 9/11 September, where planes were used to attack buildings? Didn’t they think it would be seen the same way?” he posted.
The ad was met with a mixture of dismay and derision by X users who posted to the official PIA account.
“Worst ad ever. Looks like you’re trying to drive a plane into the Eiffel Tower,” one user wrote.
“They already lost Notre Dame once – now you take the Eiffel Tower away from them?” wrote another.
Another user posted: “Wait, is this a joke? Is this from a parody account? I’m really confused.”
But others defended the ad, saying it had done its job of promoting the new Islamabad-Paris line.
“Let’s be honest, if it wasn’t for the terrible design of their message, none of us would know that PIA is now flying to Paris,” one user said.
Another posted a photo of Osama bin Laden with the caption “Graphic Designer newly hired at PIA” (graphic designer newly hired at PIA).
Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, was killed during a US military operation in Pakistan in 2011.
X users also insisted on displaying an advertisement that PIA used to advertise its Islamabad-Paris route in 1979.
This black-and-white ad shows the shadow of an airliner approaching the two towers of the World Trade Center, so reminiscent of the September 11 attacks that many Internet users assumed it was a fake.
However, fact-checking site Snopes confirmed its authenticity and traced at least two French periodicals, L’Expansion and Le Point.
ADVERTISEMENTResumption of flights to Europe
The state-owned airline Pakistan International Airlines has resumed direct flights to Europe on Fridayfollowing the EU’s aviation safety agency’s decision to lift a four-year ban over safety standards.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the resumption, saying it would help improve the airline’s image.
The Islamabad-Paris flight was sold out with more than 300 passengers, the airline said.
Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif inaugurated the twice-weekly flights and promised that the PIA would soon expand its operations to other European countries.
ADVERTISEMENTMr. Asif said in a speech that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency had imposed the ban on PIA flights to Europe due to an “irresponsible statement” by a former minister of Aviation.
The PIA ban was imposed in 2020 after the death of 97 people in the crash of a PIA plane in Karachi.
Then-Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said an investigation into the accident found that nearly a third of Pakistani pilots had cheated in their pilot exam. A government investigation later concluded that the accident was caused by pilot error.
The ban resulted in a loss of revenue of almost $150 million (146 million euros) per year for PIA, according to authorities.
ADVERTISEMENTNeither French nor Pakistani authorities have commented on PIA’s advertising campaign.
