ISLAMABAD: The first mock flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) landed at the New Islamabad International Airport on Saturday to check its operational capabilities and facilities for the passengers.
The flight PK-9001 landed at the new airport around 1:30 p.m. PIA Chief Executive Officer Musharraf Rasool, along with other Civil Aviation Authority senior officials, observed the mock exercise.
The new airport will formally be inaugurated on April 20 for regular international and domestic flights.
Mashood Tajwar, the national carrier’s spokesperson, told Arab News that the old Benazir Bhutto International Airport would be transferred to the new airport between April 19 and April 20.
He said the new airport will help increase business opportunities for local and international flights, besides improving connectivity of the local flights, including the PIA with other airlines.
At the new airport, the PIA management conducted the mock exercise of landing a passenger plane and handling the passengers check-in by its crew members, anti-narcotics force, airport security force, customs and other relevant agencies.
The passengers of the mock flight also passed through the necessary security checks, luggage scanning and customs counters before getting boarding cards.
The new airport is some 30 kilometers from Islamabad and is designed as Y-shape. It spreads over 19 square kilometers with 15 passenger boarding bridges. It also includes facilities to accommodate two double-deck A380, as many as 15 remote bays and seven remote bays for small aircraft.
For the 15 bays, the same number of lounges has been built to avoid mixing of passengers. The new airport has two runways each 3.5 km long.
The new airport will become the country’s biggest international airport for its frequency of landing and number of passenger handling services.
To cater to the needs of the passengers, the airport is also well-equipped with a mini-cinema, food court, children’s play area, five conveyer belts for the international arrival lounge and three for the domestic arrival lounge. Passenger lounges are decorated with truck art works.
It also boasts car parking for 2,200 to 2,500 vehicles for air passengers and a separate one for the airport staff.
Pakistan’s national carrier flies to around 110 destinations around the world every day, including domestic ones. It is managing a fleet of 36 aircraft, which it plans to expand to 44 in the next three years, according to the PIA’s spokesperson.
Earlier on Friday, the PIA management unveiled a new livery with its logo and design to include a painting of the Markhor (a wild goat), the national animal of Pakistan which inhabits a mountainous region of the country.
The Markhor will be visible on the PIA planes’ aircraft tail and engines, while the cockpit of the planes integrates Pakistan’s flag.
“I appreciate this effort of rebranding the airline’s image,” said Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, adviser to the prime minister on aviation. “Markhor is the national animal, it is a fighter and does not lose heart in hard times.
“The PIA will also touch the heights in the same manner,” the adviser said at the inauguration of the new livery and Markhor portrait on the national carrier’s aircrafts.
First PIA flight lands at new Islamabad airport
First PIA flight lands at new Islamabad airport
- It will become the country’s biggest international airport for its frequency of landings and number of passenger handling services.
- It’s located some 30 kilometers from Islamabad and is designed as Y-shape.
Pakistan reviews austerity measures amid Middle East crisis, urges strict nationwide implementation
- Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar chairs review meeting of austerity steps
- Officials briefed on salary cuts, school closures, four‑day week, petrol conservation
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government on Wednesday assessed progress on a sweeping set of austerity measures introduced to mitigate the country’s economic strain from sharply rising global oil prices and supply disruptions linked to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week announced a series of austerity steps, including a four‑day work week for government offices, requiring 50 percent of staff to work from home, cutting fuel allowances for official vehicles by half, grounding up to 60 percent of the government fleet and closing all schools for two weeks to conserve fuel amid the global oil crisis.
The measures were unveiled in response to global oil market volatility triggered by the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which has disrupted supply routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and pushed crude prices sharply higher, straining Pakistan’s heavily import‑dependent energy sector.
“The meeting stressed the importance of strict and transparent adherence to the austerity measures, promoting fiscal responsibility and prudent use of public resources,” Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar said in a statement.
He was chairing a meeting of the Committee for Monitoring and Implementation of Conservation and Additional Austerity Measures, constituted under the directions of the PM, bringing together federal and provincial officials to review execution of the broad cost‑cutting plan.
Dar emphasized the government’s commitment to enforcing the PM’s austerity steps nationwide. The committee’s review also covered reductions in departmental expenditure, deductions from salaries of senior officials earning over Rs. 300,000 ($1,120), and coordination with provincial administrations to ensure uniform implementation of the plan.
Participants at the meeting reiterated that all ministries and divisions must continue strict monitoring and reporting, with transparent oversight mechanisms, as Pakistan navigates the economic pressures from the prolonged Middle East crisis and its fallout on global energy and trade markets.
