Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has added another feather to its cap by starting its international flight operations from New Gwadar International Airport, with the inaugural flight taking off for the Omani capital of Muscat on Friday.
A PIA spokesperson said the inaugural flight, PK-197, carried 39 passengers.
They were welcomed at the airport by senior PIA officials. According to the spokesperson, the national airline would operate a weekly flight on the Gwadar-Muscat route.
Staying true to its tradition, the national airline took off from New Gwadar International Airport with its inaugural international flight to Muscat,” the spokesperson said in a press release. “PIA is working to activate flight operations across the country in accordance with national aspirations and public requirements. »
The new Gwadar International Airport officially began operations on Monday, welcoming its first commercial flight – PIA’s PK-503 – which symbolized a new chapter in the country’s aviation history and a step forward in making Pakistan a hub of regional connectivity.
Covering 4,300 acres, the airport is Pakistan’s largest and represents an important step towards regional development. It is a state-of-the-art Level 4F facility, capable of accommodating the largest civil aircraft. Its 3,658 meter long and 75 meter wide runway sets a benchmark for engineering standards.
The airport is being built at a cost of around Rs 50 billion, with the help of China, under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The Chinese Embassy in an article called the airport a “shining example of China-Pakistan friendship”.
Launched in 2013, CPEC, a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is a corridor connecting the port of Gwadar in Pakistan’s Balochistan province to Kashgar in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, in northwest China.
