PM inaugurates new Islamabad airport today

IIA capable of handling 9m passengers and 50,000 metric tons of cargo every year in its first phase

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is all set to inaugurate today [Tuesday] the new Islamabad International Airport (IIA), the first greenfield airport of Pakistan destined to emerge as one of Asia's major aviation hubs after its operationalisation on Thursday.

Equipped with cutting-edge technologies and state-of-the-art facilities for passengers to meet the 21st century challenges, the IIA is also the largest airport of Pakistan.

It is capable of serving nine million passengers and 50,000 metric tons cargo every year in its first phase, while the modular designs enables the expansion to serve up to 25 million passengers every year by 2025.



The airport project was conceived initially in 1984 for which land was acquired in Fateh Jang the same year to cater need to the increasing passenger load at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport.

"The current annual turnover of passengers at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport is about 4.5 million. The number of passengers is growing by 14 per cent annually as compared to national air passenger growth rate of less than four per cent," said Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Deputy Director General Amir Mehboob.

Constructed at a cost of more than Rs100 billion, the airport is connected to twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad via Kashmir Highway and Motorway via Thallian interchange. A four-lane highway has also been constructed by the National Highway Authority (NHA) to cater to cargo traffic.

Mehboob said several tests and trials had been conducted to improve reliability and efficiency of systems at the airport. Spanning over 4,238 acres of land, the airport consists of four-level passenger terminal building, two runways, taxiways, apron and parking bays for wide-body aircraft.

Ahsan Iqbal visits airport

Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal on Monday visited the newly constructed Islamabad International Airport and inspected various parts of the facility, which is being formally inaugurated today.

He also took round of various facilitation desks including the VIP lounge and directed the staff deployed there to ensure maximum facilities to passengers in a highly professional and civilised manner. Besides, he reviewed different facilities being provided to both domestic and international passengers.

The first flight

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be the first airline to operate commercial flight to the IIA today. The PIA’s flight PK 300 from Karachi will land at the airport at 11: 00 am. Passengers of the flight will be welcomed by PIA President & CEO Musharraf Rasool Cyan.



The first commercial take-off from the IIA will also be PIA’s flight PK 301 destined for Karachi.

PAF lends a helping hand

On the CAA’s request, a C-130 aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) carrying passengers and luggage landed at the newly constructed runway of the airport on Friday to assess instrument landing pattern and the quality of the landing strip, said a statement issued by the PAF’s Media Affairs Directorate.

Earlier, several PAF aircraft, including light weight Super Mushshak trainer and Hercules Transport aircraft, had also landed at the runway, paving the way for a successful landing of the first PIA mock flight at the airport.