A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight en route from Lahore to Jeddah was forced to make an emergency landing at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport after a bird struck the aircraft.
The incident occurred shortly after the plane’s departure from Lahore.
Flight number PK-859 en route from Lahore (LHE) to Jeddah (JED) with 344 passengers on board met with an accident when the bird collision caused significant damage to the aircraft’s windscreen.
پی آئی اے کی لاہور سے جدہ جانے والی پرواز سے پرندہ ٹکرا گیا، طیارے کو حفاظتی اقدمات کے تحت کراچی ایئرپورٹ پر اتار لیاگیا۔#Samaatv #Lahore #PIA #Jeddah #Karachi pic.twitter.com/22Yk4siH4a
— SAMAA TV (@SAMAATV) November 6, 2025
The pilot declared an emergency and diverted the flight to Karachi as a safety precaution. The aircraft landed safely, and all passengers and crew are safe.
The aircraft has been grounded in Karachi for essential repairs to its windscreen. All passengers were safely transferred to a local hotel, where they are waiting for the aircraft to be cleared for departure.
According to sources, the repairs are expected to take approximately 12 hours. This means the flight will not be departing immediately.
Based on the current time at the time of filing this story, the earliest estimated departure would likely be late tonight or early tomorrow morning, once all safety checks and repairs are complete and approved by the Civil Aviation Authority.
The airline is responsible for notifying the passengers of the new departure time via SMS or email.
