Over 73,000 passengers offloaded at airports in 2025, Interior Ministry tells Senate

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior has revealed that more than 73,000 passengers were offloaded at Pakistani airports during 2025, the highest in a three-year period.

According to the ministry’s reply to a Senate question, 35,270 passengers were offloaded in 2023, 39,214 in 2024, and 73,358 in 2025, bringing the total to 147,842 over the three years.

The ministry said passengers are offloaded only when their behaviour suggests possible illegal intentions. Of the 73,358 offloaded in 2025, 45,356 were due to technical reasons, including flight cancellations, passengers’ refusal to travel, aircraft faults, bad weather, delays, or airline offloading.

On illegal immigration, the ministry said 861 suspects with fake documents were identified at airports over three years. Among them, 303 were deported, 417 cases were registered, 557 arrests were made, and 206 convictions recorded. In addition, 153 cases related to fake documents were registered in recent years, leading to 181 arrests and 93 convictions.

The ministry also reported 23 departmental inquiries against FIA employees in connection with fake document cases, of which 17 have been concluded.

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The ministry provided details of beggars offloaded and deported in 2024 and 2025. In 2024, 507 beggars were offloaded, while 90 were offloaded in 2025. The ministry said 4,850 beggars were deported in 2024, decreasing to 1,187 in 2025.

It added that inquiries and FIRs were registered against both offloaded and deported beggars, leading to multiple arrests and convictions over the two years.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi last month directed authorities to enforce strict screening of passengers’ travel documents at all airports to curb illegal immigration. He also instructed the Federal Investigation Agency to ensure strict and impartial action against networks involved in illegal travel and fake documentation.