Pakistan International Airlines is investigating reports that a flight from Karachi to Medina carried seven extra passengers in the aisle on January 20. The incident was first reported by Pakistan daily Dawn, which had said the seven extra passengers had been issued hand-written boarding passes. Their names were also not on a computer-generated list that the ground staff gives crew on the flight.

The flight, a Boeing 777, was capable of carrying 409 passengers but instead had 416. Sources told Dawn that though the captain of the flight Anwer Adil was made aware of the situation, he did not turn the aircraft around to offload the extra passengers, probably to save fuel.

No action has been taken against any PIA employees yet, though a spokesperson said the matter is being investigated. Danyal Gilani told BBC that “appropriate action will be taken once responsibility is fixed”.