New Islamabad airport to be inaugurated on Tuesday

ISLAMABAD: The newly-constructed Islamabad International Airport will formally be inaugurated on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is expected to inaugurate the new airport, according to a report of the state-owned Radio Pakistan.

The first flight of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from Karachi will touch down at the airport at 11:00 am on the same day, while first flight of the national flag carrier will depart for Karachi at 12.30 pm, according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

new Islamabad airport — A general view of the health and passport control area during a media tour of the newly built Islamabad International Airport, ahead of its official opening

Complete operation will commence from next Thursday.

The inauguration of the recently-constructed airport was earlier scheduled for April 20, but, it was delayed owing to construction work ongoing on some of its sections.

The new airport will have runways capable of handling larger A380 jets that are now unable to land in the capital.

It will also have 15 air bridges to allow boarding directly from the terminal, instead passengers riding buses to all planes.

The “Y” shaped new airport spreads over 19 square kilometers with 15 jetties (passenger boarding bridges), including facilities to accommodate two double-deck A380, the world’s largest airplane, 15 remote bays and seven remote bays for small aircraft such as ATRs. It will be the biggest international airport in the country in terms of landing and passenger handling facilities. For the 15 bays, the same number of lounges have been built to avoid mixing of passengers. The new airport has two runways each 3.5 km long.