KARACHI: Pegasus Airlines is tarnishing Turkish image, swindling passengers under the banner of budget/affordability.
As a member of Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists [(IFJ – that happens to harbor 600,000 (six hundred thousand) members in 150 countries], I believe it is pertinent to expose the following scam at global level.
Like many times in the past, in 2025 too, I was assigned the job of covering 55th Paris Air Show (that was held from 16th to 22nd June).
Deluded by its claim of affordability, Pegasus Airlines tickets were booked for me online. Since I had to carry a camera and other equipment I visited Pegasus Karachi office (situated at Qasr-e-Zainab Building, Club Road) to get my baggage allowance increased from 12 kgs to 20 kgs. There I met Ms. Fatima and paid her Rs. 10, 500 in cash for the augmentation.
I was supposed to leave Karachi via flight No PC 131 on 15th June at 4.25am and reach Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport at 8.15am.
But the flight No. PC 131 was delayed and the budget/affordable airline commenced making lives of the passengers miserable right from Karachi. When landed at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport, the connecting flight PC 1133 had already taken off.
At Sabiha Gökçen Airport I stood in one of the two long haphazard queues to get a new Boarding Card. I noticed that instead of relying on the computer monitor’s screen the relaxed and sluggish Pegasus workers were taking time to telephone some mysterious entities before issuing Boarding Cards for connecting flights. Often they left counter to take orders from those characters.
On 25th June, 2025 I was supposed to board Flight No PC 1170 from London Stansted Airport at 12.15 Noon and reach Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport at 18 hours.
NO ACCESS: But Pegasus staff at Stansted Airport’s Zone 500 told me that the Flight No. PC 1170 was cancelled and they did not have any access to the Airlines’ data/schedule. They asked me to contact the booking agent for information about next flight.
Since my ticket was booked online there was nobody to turn to. Hence my colleague in Karachi called Ms. Fatima at Pegasus office. She said that my return flight from London had been cancelled and the new flight was PC 7170 that would take off at 22.10 hours from London Stansted and reach Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport at 23.10 hours.
ENCORE NO ACCESS: Ms. Fatima of Pegasus Karachi office further told my colleague that she did not have any access to the Pegasus Airlines’ data.
Ms. Fatima at Pegasus Airlines’ Karachi office said that once I reach Istanbul (via Flight No. 7170) the Pegasus staff would accommodate me on first come first served basis for the connecting flight to Karachi [which was originally Flight No 130 that was supposed to depart from Sabiha Gökçen Airport at 20.10 hours (on 25 June) and reach Karachi at 3.35am (on 26th June).
BLACKMAILED TO BUY TURKISH VISA WORTH $100: When, after waiting for 11 hours (9am till 8pm) at the London Stansted Airport, I approached the Pegasus counters in Zone 500 to get my Boarding Card, they said since I had only ticket to Istanbul they could not issue me Boarding Card without Turkish Visa.
I went to Paris to cover Paris Air Show and then officially visited a number of organizations including BBC offices in London. And I wanted to go back to my Karachi bureau in order to file my report in time. I did not want to go to Turkey. I further told them I possessed valid Schengen and UK visas, thus can get Turkish visa on arrival at Istanbul.
The Pegasus Airlines staff at the London Stansted Airport (sans any access to the data) took pictures of my passport/visas and Whatsapped that to their superiors. But the guy(s) at the other side of the Whatsapp told them that I will have to buy a $100 Turkish visa, if I wanted to leave London.
Blackmailed by the Pegasus staff at London I called my contact at 9.30PM to get me Turkish visa online. That was done immediately and I was allowed by the Pegasus staff to board the Flight No. PC 7170.
That flight (PC 7170) too took off late from London Stansted on 25th June and reached Istanbul the next day (before departure they changed the gate without announcing it on public address system).
Forced to Enter Turkey: Once I reached the Sabiha Gökçen Airport I was made to enter Turkey, though I was only a transit passenger.
BARKING PEGASUS: Once through immigration, when I reached the Pegasus area and tried to talk to a man at the international passengers’ counter to get directions. A woman started barking at me (not just shouting) and yelled: “Why are you standing there? Get out and take your baggage with you.”
Bravo! I was the one who had been suffering from the mismanagement, inefficient and foxy Pegasus staff over two continents for the last 48 hours. And instead of me shouting at her, she was abusing me! She was literally barking asking me to go to the so-called MACHINE, instead of talking to any staff member.
The MACHINES at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen (26th June, 2025)
SMIRKING PEGASUS: At 3.30am when I reached the so-called MACHINE, I found a clown-looking man in Pegasus uniform with a smirking expression on his face, like a jester.
He took my passport, swiped it on the machine and mischievously said: “You have a flight at 5.30 PM, come back after ten hours.”
He was giving me an impression that he had booked me in the next flight to Karachi by swiping my passport over the so-called MACHINE. But in actuality he had done nothing except kidding me!
THE UNAPPORACHABLE PEGASUS SUPERVISOR AT BOOTH NO. E11: I went to the Information and they asked me to talk to the Supervisor at Booth E11.
When I tried to go to Booth E11 two girls and one boy in Pegasus uniform blocked my way. When I told them that Information asked me to see the Supervisor at E11, one of the girls, blocking my way, said: “Still you go to the MACHINE”.
How could junior personnel of the Pegasus Airlines block the way, barring an international passenger from seeing the Supervisor at E11, without the instructions from the superiors?
The trick was that they knew that cheap/budget tickets were bought by illiterate people (who can’t speak English) and if all of them go to the Supervisor at E11 he/she will have to compensate/accommodate them.
I went to a ticket-selling office at the airport to buy Istanbul-Karachi ticket of some other airline, and asked the agent there about the Pegasus flight the next day at 5.30PM. The guy over there told me that the 5.30PM flight of Pegasus was full.
With that Passport Swiping Jester in my mind, I wanted to know was I included in the 5.30 PM flight’s passengers’ list, the ticketing agent of other airline said he only knew that the flight was full but did not have any access to the passengers’ list.
THE COOPERATIVE PEGASUS: I came across a gentleman who seemed to be a senior officer. He told me that I should see the Supervisor at E11. I informed him that there were three juniors blocking the way to E11.
THE UNREACHABLE E11 & ITS SUPERVISOR: Once I managed to reach the E11 and asked the Supervisor ‘was my name included in the list of the flight that was scheduled to take off at 5.30PM for Karachi?’ He told me that the 5.30PM plane was full.
It proved that the SMIRKING PEGASUS was jesting and the swiping of my passport on the MACHINE was nothing but a joke. If I had believed him I could have waited for another 10 hours for the 5.30PM flight.
The E11 Supervisor informed me that there was a flight for the next day (27th June) at 7PM. He gave me a voucher for hotel Ibis room, pick-n-drop and five meals.
INSULTING & INEFFICIENT PEGASUS PERSONNEL: When I came back after spending a day at the hotel the next day, and contacted one of the girls at the so-called MACHINES, she said the MACHINE could not read my passport and I should go to the E-Passport cubicle (that I believe is meant only for Turkish citizens).
The woman perched at E-Passport booth was also exultantly misbehaving with international travellers. She too shouted, asking me to go to the Information.
Since most of the Pegasus staff can’t speak English, they hide behind this rude attitude! Or are they racist too, misbehaving with South Asians who buy their affordable/budget tickets?
It is evident that the Pegasus staff at Istanbul airports is trained to deliberately behave coarsely and suppress the affordable ticket holders so that they do not ask for any compensation according to prevailing international rules.
By some stroke of luck, following E-Passport episode, I came across the same Cooperative Pegasus again. I told him that I came back from hotel but my passport was not machine-readable. He said that I will again have to go to the Supervisor at E11.
When I proceeded to the E11, as usual one girl and two boys were blocking the way. I again forced my way to E11 saying that my reservation was made by EII and my Boarding Card too would be provided by the same supervisor.
There was a lady sitting at EII who gave me the Boarding Card. It means that there was no Data at all in the so-called MACHINES about my reservation, and it was the Supervisor at E11 who was supposed to provide me the Boarding Card.
Incidentally, that flight too was late and finally I reached Karachi after 3 days on 28th June, 2025.
PS: All the people I contacted, including children studying in Europe, complained against delays, cancellations, mismanagement of Pegasus Airlines and extremely rude attitude of its personnel. At Sabiha Gökçen Airport I even witnessed Turkish citizens engaged in verbal skirmishes with Pegasus staff.
Newspakistan.tv
