The ad depicting a plane flying toward the Eiffel Tower was never intended to cause harm to 9/11 victims, according to the PIA.

On Thursday, Pakistan’s national airline stated that it never intended for an advertisement featuring a plane flying toward the Eiffel Tower to invoke memories of the September 11 attacks.

“Paris, we’re coming today” is displayed on a plane that is placed above the French flag and angled toward the famous Parisian landmark. The image is not in video format.

On January 10, Pakistan International Airlines, or PIA, put the advertisement on X, the day the airline began operating again to EU nations following a four-year suspension by the bloc’s aviation safety body.

The advertisement sparked immediate outrage on social media, and Pakistan’s prime minister demanded an investigation. The advertisement was called “stupid” by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday.

The ad has more than 21.2 million views and hasn’t been removed. PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez stated on Thursday that it was never meant to hurt 9/11 survivors or their families, but rather to commemorate the airline’s resumption of flights to Europe.

“I was surprised by the criticism,” Hafeez told The Associated Press. However, “we apologise to those who feel the advertisement hurt them,” he admitted.

Hafeez stated, “We would like to clarify that we did not intend to offend anyone.”

“The Eiffel Tower was featured in the advertisement because it’s one of the world’s best places,” he remarked.

Following a PIA plane tragedy in Karachi, southern Pakistan, in 2020 that claimed 97 lives, PIA was subject to restrictions.

Then, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, the minister of aviation, stated that findings from the crash inquiry showed that about one-third of Pakistani pilots had cheated on their pilot’s examinations. The reason forr the crash was later determined by a government investigation to bea pilot error.

Officials claim that PIA lost around US$150 million annually as a result of the prohibition.