PIA seeks divine intervention for safer flight

State-owned entity Pakistan International Airline (PIA) took an unusual step to ensure a safer flight for its passengers after some staff members decided to slaughter a black goat at Islamabad airports tarmac as ATR operations resumed on Sunday.

According to media reports, the sacrifice of the goat was offered at the Islamabad airport on behalf of PIA. The goat was slaughtered moments before the aircraft took off for the first time after shakedown tests.

The PIA had grounded all of its 10 ATR aircrafts after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) ordered shakedown tests of the planes following a deadly crash claiming 48 lives earlier this month.

The officials sacrificed a goat as a gesture of gratitude as the ATR aircraft resumed flight operations, a PIA official told The Express Tribune. The official, however, clarified that it wasnt a management-level decision. There was no official statement from PIA spokesperson Danyal Gilani till the filing of this report.

PIA has been in headlines since the deadly crash of PIAs flight-661 near Havelian region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which claimed lives of all 48 onboard including popular singer-turned-evangelist Junaid Jamshed, two Austrians, and a Chinese national.