A Pakistani flight attendant has gone missing after arriving in Canada Friday.
Ijaz Shah was among the crew members on a Pakistan International Airlines plane that flew from the capital, Islamabad, to Toronto on Oct. 14.
He was aboard flight PK 781 that landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport at 4 p.m. local time.
Shah did not make it to the crew bus taking airline staff members to their hotel following immigration, a PIA spokesperson confirmed to Global News Wednesday.
“When he did not report to the return flight, he was reported to concerned authorities,” he said, adding Shah’s family had been contacted.
As of Wednesday, Shah had not been reported missing, according to Peel Regional Police.
Global News has contacted Canada Border Services Agency, but has yet to receive a response.
This is not the first time a crew member of PIA, Pakistan’s national carrier, has disappeared in Canada in recent years.
This is the third such incident this year, according to PIA spokesperson Khan. Earlier in January, a flight steward on another PIA flight from Islamabad went missing soon after landing at Toronto, according to local media outlet Dawn.
On another occasion, on air hostess of the national carrier also disappeared after reaching Canada this year.
Khan said PIA has developed a procedure to control these incidences, including surety bonds obtained from the crew sent to Toronto.
“Additionally thorough investigations are also conducted to ascertain the facts and if found guilty, they are terminated from the service,” he said.
According to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, a foreign national is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa if they are seeking to enter and remain in Canada solely as a member of a flight crew.
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