PIA flights to and from Islamabad airport rescheduled 

Two international flights have been affected


News Desk August 25, 2016
PHOTO: AFP

A few Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to and from Islamabad have been rescheduled due to a runway closure from 1pm to 6pm on Thursday (today), said a press release.

Two international flights have been affected — PK-701 for Manchester would now take off at 12:30pm against the scheduled time of 2:45pm, and PK-211 for Dubai would now depart at 12:45pm. The previously scheduled departure time was 1:15pm.

Flights to and from Islamabad airport rescheduled for next two Mondays

The new Islamabad International Airport will be fully operational by June 2017.

All construction work of the project is scheduled to be completed by December 25 this year. Official sources stated that after the completion of all awarded packages, about six to eight months will be required for testing and operationalisation of the airport.

New Islamabad airport: Completion date may go well beyond end-2016

The federal government has allocated three billion rupees under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the year 2016-2017 for construction of the road network of NIIA. The National Highway Authority (NHA) has also started work on roads leading to the new airport.

The first-ever green-field airport is being constructed near Fateh Jang, some 20 kilometres from the centre of the federal capital, and 23 kilometres from Rawalpindi, and just a few kilometres from the Islamabad interchange on the M1/M2 motorways.

The airport will be equipped with cutting-edge technologies and state-of-the-art facilities for passengers to meet 21st century challenges.

The much delayed mega project, having an area of 3,289 acres, is being built to replace the existing Benazir Bhutto International Airport. The inordinate delay occurred in the completion of the project due to land acquisition process, frequently changing directors, cancellation and revival of contracts with international companies, lack of easy access to road for shifting heavy machinery and absence of water and electricity resources in the area.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2016.

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