Pakistan Airlines slammed for 'threatening a new 9/11' in controversial Paris ad
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Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been slammed online over a controversial new advert that has been accused of evoking the 9/11 terrorist attack. The country's national airline came under fire after it shared an advert on social media depicting one of its plane's flying toward the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Many online believed the image showed the plane actually moving toward a head-on collision with the Paris landmark.
The advert says "Paris, we're coming today" before stating in small text that flights between the country's capital Islamabad and Paris would resume from that day. Since being shared on January 10, the X/Twitter post has attracted 21million views and an estimated 33,000 likes.
Many online shared their horror at the advert, suggesting it evoked the 9/11 Islamist terror attack in New York in 2001 where nearly 3,000 people were killed and between 6,000 to more than 25,000 were injured. One verified X/Twitter user said "Is this a threat?" While another verified account said: "Who's the graphic designer?".
While a third user posted: "They (the French) already lost Notre Dame, now you're taking the Eiffel Tower away?" An a fourth said: "Who thought this ad was a good idea.". Other commenters pointed out a previous advert by Pakistan International Airlines in 1979 that showed the shadow of a plane looming over the Twin Towers in New York. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the creation and publication of the advert.
