Bad times for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), in the eye of the storm because of a rather unfortunate social media AD, which has sparked controversy around the world in recent days. The image shows a plane of the Pakistani national carrier in flight heading straight for the Eiffel Tower, the greatest symbol of France and therefore of Europe. Below, the writing "Paris, we're coming today".

Undoubtedly, the illustration evokes the horror of September 11, 2001, when four airliners were hijacked and brought to crash, two against the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, one against the Pentagon, and a fourth, destined to fall on the White House or the Capitol, instead crashed into a field thanks to the courageous revolt of the passengers. A tragedy at the hands of Al Qaeda terrorists, immense, which remains an indelible stain in the history of humanity, and an indelible memory in those who lived those moments, from every corner of the world.

In reality, PIA, after a four-year interruption, simply wanted to announce the resumption of its connections to Europe, and Paris in particular; a return made possible thanks to the cancellation of the carrier from the strict black-list of the European Union that had imposed the ban for reasons related to air safety. To mark the important return, the airline chose the iconic image of the Eiffel Tower. A communication choice that could not have been more wrong. And public opinion, the ferocious one of social media, rose up. A storm...

Criticism has also come from within Pakistan itself. One for all, Omar R. Quraishi, a well-known public relations expert, and former Pakistani political advisor, who commented on X: "Didn't the idiot who designed this graphic see a PIA plane headed for the Eiffel Tower? One of the iconic monuments of Europe? Don't they know about the tragedy of 9/11, where planes were used to attack buildings? Didn't they think this would be perceived in a similar way? Don't they know that PIA is a carrier owned by a country often accused of supporting terrorism? Really speechless....". In fact, many wondered if the image represented a veiled threat.

It seems, however, that the airline has adjusted its aim, focusing on a second image for its campaign (which we publish in the gallery below), which this time shows a plane landing in an airport presumably in Paris, and with the writing "Paris, we've arrived". But now, as they say, the "omelette is done!"...