PIA flight number 9702 had a capacity of 371 passengers but 370 seats remained vacant. The plane became a chartered flight for the only Gujarat resident to come to Pakistan. It has been reported that a passenger named Abdul Razzaq was given special permission by the Civil Aviation Authority to enter Pakistan.
In this regard, the spokesman of PIA said that the plane coming from Manchester to Pakistan has nothing to do with the fleet of the national airline. Highfly's charter plane was scheduled to arrive in Pakistan as a ferry flight. The government of Pakistan allowed the passenger to return home on humanitarian grounds. The said passenger reached Pakistan with the deceased. While the flight from Manchester had also returned to the UK, the return flight had 272 passengers on board. It should be noted here that after the ban imposed by the European Union, PIA is operating flights to the UK and other European countries through alternative means.
