Pakistan Airport Authority ( PAA) - News

ESSAY: AIRPORTS AS MIRRORS​

Zoya Nazir Published January 4, 2026

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Hamad International Airport, Doha | Qatar Tribune

I am an airport person — not because I travel often, but because I love their peculiar atmosphere: the sense of transition, the emotion of crossing borders. Yet I have come to recognise another dimension: airports often capture the essence of the society that built them.

Earlier in October, I booked my flight from Berlin to Karachi after completing my postgraduation in Germany. This was not my first time travelling the Berlin-Doha-Karachi route and, like every time, I looked forward to my three-hour layover at the Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar.

HOMECOMING REALITIES

When I landed at the airport of my home city after a 12-hour journey, I was overcome with nostalgia for a few seconds, as Karachi is the city where I spent my early childhood.

But as my nostalgia faded, I felt the contrast between Karachi airport and any other international airport, including those of Doha and Berlin. The infrastructure was dated and the stores felt like relics of a bygone era. I saw my suitcase after nearly an hour of waiting, although there were only three flights at 7am on a Saturday.

Why does the transport hub of Pakistan’s largest city feel frozen in time? What has prevented its renovation or the construction of a contemporary facility? Jinnah Airport, which opened in 1992, has remained unchanged since its founding. It is, in many ways, a microcosm of Karachi itself: perpetually stuck between what it actually is and what it struggles to become.

Major governance challenges dominate Karachi’s urban landscape, where crumbling infrastructure frequently results in life-threatening accidents. Unchecked projects are often abandoned with little consequence. A clear blame rests on the shoulders of negligent authorities, but it is no less true that the general public in Karachi also suffers from an almost criminal lack of civic sense.

Yet for all its flaws, Karachi is a city whose capacity to receive, absorb and sustain people from all walks of life is remarkable. Home to at least 21 million people, Karachi has, for generations, accepted people from across Pakistan. Punjabis, Pakhtuns, Sindhis, Baloch, Mohajirs, and Bengalis have all found their way here to seek opportunity, refuge, or simply to survive, and the city has given them space to build lives, however precarious.

much said about the need for Pakistan to have an international-standard airport, there is a story to be told about the new Islamabad airport, too. When it was opened in 2018, the Islamabad International Airport, described as ‘world-class’ and ‘state-of-the-art’, was a celebration for Pakistanis.

After years of unpleasant experiences at the former Benazir Bhutto International Airport, the consensus was that Islamabad deserves a transportation facility that offers, at the very least, a positive first impression of the capital city.

Admittedly, the new airport is a significant step up from its predecessor; it is much larger, better-designed and more efficient. Yet one cannot help but notice the substandard quality of construction and other characteristics that fall short of qualifying it as a truly ‘world-class’ airport. The roofs have a tendency to leak when it rains and the elevators accommodate barely four passengers.
 
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Reconstructed Runway 07L/25R at Jinnah International Airport - Karachi inaugurated.

The upgraded Code 4F runway is also available for Airbus A380 landing & takeoff.
 
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“Pakistan’s airspace as a whole remains fully open, safe, and completely available for all civil aviation traffic, including commercial flights. Air traffic services continue without hindrance, and alternative routing options are available and routinely used for all affected flows,” the authority said.

“No restrictions have been imposed on commercial operations, arrivals, departures, or overflights across Pakistan. Our air traffic controllers and airport teams are fully operational and managing traffic normally,” it added.

On the other hand, no commercial flight was operated between the Middle East and Islamabad International Airport (IIAP) on Monday, except for an Etihad Airways flight that landed there.

According to the airport information counter, Etihad Airways flight EY300 from Abu Dhabi arrived at IIAP at 7:30pm. However, all flights from Dubai, Sharjah, Bahrain, Kuwait and Muscat were cancelled as no flights departed these countries.

Currently, PIA flights to and from Saudi Arabia remain operational, a spokesman for PIA said.
 
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Air Sial operates first Haj flight
Dawn

Air Sial has also announced the commencement of its Haj operations, with the first Haj flight departed from Karachi carrying 160 pilgrims, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA).

The AirSial flight PF-7700 departed early in the morning at 2:05am.

Under the “Route to Makkah” facility, modern immigration services are being provided to pilgrims to facilitate smooth travel procedures.

Governor Sindh Nihal Hashmi and relevant federal and provincial ministers attended the inaugural ceremony of the first Haj flight and reviewed the arrangements made for pilgrims, according to PAA.

Officials also visited the Saudi immigration counters and appreciated the facilities being provided under the initiative.
 

PAA extends airspace ban for Indian aircraft until May 24​

News Desk
April 21, 2026

The Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) on Tuesday extended its airspace ban for Indian aircraft for another month until May 24, marking a year of flight restrictions on India’s airlines.

“Pakistani airspace will remain closed to Indian-registered aircraft, or Indian airlines/operators (including military flights),” a PAA Notice to Airmen (Notam) said.

“This ban will now be effective till May 24, 2026 at 4:59am.”

Pakistan’s airspace is divided into two flight information regions (FIRs) — Karachi and Lahore, according to a Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) document from 2022. The Notam applies to both the Karachi (OPKR) and Lahore (OPLR) FIRs.
 
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