Dismay, ridicule over Pakistan Airlines 'tone deaf' ad campaign for flights to France

There has been anger and dismay online over an advert used by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to promote the resumption of flights to Europe after a four-year safety ban.

The image posted by the airline on social media appears to show a plane flying into the Eiffel Tower, with some on social media comparing the campaign to the 2001 World Trade Centre terror attacks in New York.

In a post on X, Pakistani PR expert and former political adviser Omar R. Quraishi slammed the ad as "completely tone deaf" and said it had left him "truly speechless".

"Did the idiot who designed this graphic not see a PIA plane heading for the Eiffel Tower? One of Europe's iconic landmarks. Do they not know about the 9/11 tragedy – which used planes to attack buildings? Did they not think that this would be perceived in similar fashion?" he posted.

The ad was met with a mixture of dismay and ridicule by X users posting on the PIA official account.

"Worst ad ever. It looks like you're trying to fly an aircraft into the Eiffel Tower," wrote one user.

"They already lost Notre Dame once - now you're taking the Eiffel Tower away?" wrote another.

While another user posted: "Wait? Is this a joke? Is this from a parody account? I'm genuinely confused."

But others defended the advert, saying it had done its job of promoting the new route from Islamabad to Paris.

"Let's be honest, without the terrible design of their post, none of us would even know that PIA is flying to Paris now," said one user.

Another posted a picture of Osama bin Laden with the caption "Newly hired Graphic Designer at PIA".

Bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 World Trade Centre attacks, was killed in a US military operation in Pakistan in 2011.

X users were also keen to post an