‘Wear undergarments’, Pakistan International Airlines orders cabin crew!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: A nearly bankrupt Pakistan regularly springs surprises with bizarre happenings that hit headlines worldwide.
But this one might be the strangest.
Pakistan’s official national career, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), as bankrupt as the country, has directed aircraft cabin crew to ‘wear undergarments,’ the media reported on Friday.
It is unclear if the PIA foots the bills for its staff’s uniforms, including undergarments!
But the PIA insisted that the lack of better attire by air attendants is leaving a “poor impression” and “portrays a negative image” of the airline.
In what many saw as a ‘new rule’, the airlines ordered the aircrew that wearing undergarments is a must, Pakistan’s Geo News reported.
“It has been observed with great concern that a few cabin crew tend to dress casually while traveling intercity, staying in hotels, and visiting various offices. Such dressing leaves a poor impression on the viewer and portrays a negative image of not only the individual but also of the organization,” an internal instruction memo sent by PIA General Manager (Flight Services), Aamir Bashir, read, the media outlet reported.
Bashir asked the cabin crew to “dress properly” in formal plain clothes over “proper undergarments”.
“The clothing worn by males and females should be in accordance with our cultural and national morals,” the guidelines read.
The grooming officials have been instructed to monitor cabin crew “at all times” and report back if there is any “deviation” from the rules, Geo News reported.
Cash-strapped, PIA has failed to pay regular salaries to hundreds of its staff and VRS benefits to around 2,000 staff who had opted for the VRS scheme.
