A senior executive of the airline stationed in Jeddah said the flight scheduled to leave at 2:30 a.m. on Friday had to be delayed as the pilot noticed a “technical fault” just before its take-off.

The passengers, who had gone through the immigration procedure, were sent to a hotel in the downtown Balad district.

There was also a delay in sending the passengers to the hotel as all of them had gone through immigration, an airport source said.

The passengers were informed while they were on board that the flight would depart at 3 a.m. “There were no further announcements. We remained seated till 6 a.m., and were then advised to disembark and remain at the airport's departure lounge. After some time, we were transported to the hotel,” a passenger told Arab News.

According to another passenger, while everybody was seated in the aircraft the flight crew was considering the option of taking the flight to Karachi instead of Lahore.

“They contacted the Karachi Civil Aviation Authority but were firmly told that until the technical fault was set right the aircraft should not take off.”

Another passenger said: “I don't blame PIA for the aircraft's technical problems. However, the management could have handled the crisis better. They definitely need to streamline their management and the crewmembers could have made us comfortable. Such situations can arise for any airline and on any flight. I don't want to blame PIA only.”

However, he added: “Such problems are occurring on a more frequent basis for PIA due to their aging fleet.”

Other passengers commented on the condition of the plane and said it was unbelievably dirty. The plane smelled disgusting and the condition of the plane was questionable, they said.

“Such inordinate delays inconvenience the relatives and friends of the passengers who visit the airport to receive them,” one of them said. Some visitors have to travel long distances when they land as they come from remote villages.

— Fatima Naveed contributed to this report.