Mainstream media outlets misreported an old video from Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport, claiming it shows a recent fire incident at the Lahore airport that led to the cancellation of all flights.
BOOM found that the video shows a fire incident that occurred on May 9, 2024 at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Pakistan.
The video has been used by news outlets including ABP News which further cited an undisclosed source in its report, stating that the fire in the video broke out when a Pakistani Army plane was landing at Lahore airport and one of its tires caught fire.
Several other news outlets including Financial Express, NewsX, Jagran English, and News18 Hindi, also published a report about the same video claiming it to be recent. The reports feature a now deleted X post as the source.
X handle Baba Banaras also made the same claim with the video.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Fact Check
BOOM broke the video into keyframes and performed a reverse image search on them. The search directed us to an Instagram post from May 9, 2024, with a caption stating that the incident took place at Lahore Airport in Pakistan at that time.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Below is a comparison between the viral video and the video seen in the Instagram post from May 9, 2024.
Taking a cue, we ran a related keyword search and came across a news report by Pakistan-based The Express Tribune. The report stated that a fire broke out at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport on May 9, 2024, with preliminary findings suggesting it started from a conveyor belt in the international departure lounge and quickly spread to nearby counters.
According to the article, "Airport's source said the fire rapidly destroyed the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) immigration system and counters. They added that the firefighters had to break the windows to gain entry there to put out the raging blaze."
The visuals of the fire at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport were also aired on Pakistani news channels at that time.
Additionally, a report published by Gulf News on April 27, 2025 stated that the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) refuted claims of a fire incident at Lahore Airport after the video went viral on social media recently.
The report quoted a spokesperson for the Pakistan Airports Authority as saying, "Airport operations at Lahore are proceeding smoothly without any disruptions. There has been no incident of fire or any other unpleasant occurrence at the airport on Saturday. All flights are operating as per schedule and passenger services remain unaffected".
