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*[[Nas Air (Saudi Arabia)|Nas Air]] (Riyadh)
*[[Nas Air (Saudi Arabia)|Nas Air]] (Riyadh)
*[[Oman Air]] (Muscat)
*[[Oman Air]] (Muscat)
*[[Pakistan International Airlines]] (Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Beijing, Delhi, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Glasgow-International, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, London-Heathrow, Manchester, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Mumbai, Muscat, New York-JFK, Riyadh, Tokyo-Narita, Toronto-Pearson)
*[[Pakistan International Airlines]] (Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Beijing, Delhi, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Glasgow-International, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, London-Heathrow, Manchester, Moscow-Sheremetyevo(Stopping 13 Feb 09), Mumbai, Muscat, New York-JFK, Riyadh, Tokyo-Narita, Toronto-Pearson)
*[[Qatar Airways]] (Doha)
*[[Qatar Airways]] (Doha)
*[[Saudi Arabian Airlines]] (Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh)
*[[Saudi Arabian Airlines]] (Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh)

Revision as of 11:21, 30 January 2009

Jinnah International Airport

Quaid-e-Azam International Airport

Karachi International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorCivil Aviation Authority of Pakistan
ServesKarachi
Elevation AMSL100 ft / 30 m
Coordinates24°54′24″N 067°09′39″E / 24.90667°N 67.16083°E / 24.90667; 67.16083
Websitewww.karachiairport.com.pk
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07R/25L 3,400 11,155 Concrete
07L/25R 3,200 10,500 Concrete
"KHI" redirects here. For other uses, see KHI (disambiguation).

Jinnah International Airport previously Quaid-e-Azam International Airport (IATA: KHI, ICAO: OPKC) is Pakistan's largest international and domestic airport. It is located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, and is also commonly known as the Jinnah Terminal. The airport is named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, who was also known as Quaid-e-Azam ("Great Leader").

The airport provides primary hub for the flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA),Shaheen Air International,Aircraft Sales and Services Limited (ASSL) and Airblue as well as many other private airlines. The airport is equipped with aircraft engineering and overhauling facilities including the Ispahani Hangar for wide-body aircraft.

History

Karachi Airport in 1943 during World War II

During the 1940s there was a large black colored hangar (also locally known as Kala Chapra) at the site of Karachi airport, constructed for the British R101 Airship. Only three hangars were ever built in the world to dock and hangar the R101 airships. However, the R101 airship never arrived in Karachi (then part of the British Raj) as it crashed early in its journey in France. This hangar was so huge that aircraft often used it as a visual marker while attempting VFR landings at Karachi. Over the years, the hangar became known as the landmark of Karachi, until it was torn down in 1960s. The airport facilities were further expanded in 1980s to Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 respectively. The present day infrastructure of Jinnah International Complex is a result of an expansion program carried out in 1994.[1]


Karachi was once a much busier airport. Between the 1960s and 1980s it was an online station of several major airlines of the world including British Airways, Interflug, TAROM, Alitalia, JAT Yugoslavia Airlines, Aeroflot, Philippine Airlines, Nigeria Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, EgyptAir, East African Airways, Kenya Airways, Air France, Qantas, KLM, Pan Am, Middle East Airlines, Swissair, SAS, Lufthansa, and Kuwait Airways[citation needed]. However, due to the emergence of Dubai's airport on the World map, increased usage of longer haul aircraft and the poor political climate of Karachi during 1990s, several airlines discontinued their service to the airport.

In the past couple of years Karachi has seen a reversal in fortunes. The dwindling numbers of international airlines has stabilised and whilst there hasn't been a marked increase in the number of airlines flying in to Karachi, some have either increased the number of flights or resumed their old operations. Economic factors may be partly responsible for the upswing in activity at the airport. As industrial growth in Karachi and the rest of Pakistan expands, some European and Asian carriers are mooting resumption of services to Jinnah International.

Structure

File:JIAP N.jpg
Aerial View of Jinnah International Airport
Front view of Jinnah International
File:Arrivallounge.JPG
Waiting area of Arrival Lounge - Jinnah International

In fiscal year 2007-2008, over 10.6 million passengers used Jinnah International Airport. 49,283 aircraft movements were registered. [2]

Jinnah International Airport in Karachi has always been the largest aviation facility in Pakistan. It is the primary hub of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). All other Pakistani airlines also use Jinnah International Airport as their main hub. This includes Airblue, and Shaheen Air International.

The building is linked via connecting corridors to two satellites, each having a provision of eight passenger-loading bridges. The eastern satellite is devoted exclusively to handling international operations. The western satellite is used for domestic operations, as well as some international operations. This is achieved through a flexible arrangement of gates. The two satellites supplement the departure lounges of the Terminal Building and also provide shopping facilities and snack counters.

The Jinnah Terminal was completed in 1992 at a cost of $100 Million - at its time the most expensive civil construction project in Pakistan[citation needed]. NESPAK (National Engineering Services Pakistan) and Airconsult (Frankfurt, Germany) were responsible for the architecture and planning of the terminal. Sogea Construction, a French company, was the contractor. Mukhtar Husain (NESPAK) was the Chief Architect for the new terminal.

In Karachi, the CIP Lounge can be used by all first and business class passengers on all outbound flights. Only passengers who have been pre-issued an airline card from the check-in desk can enter the lounge. Other passengers who wish to use the lounge may do so upon payment of a charge of USD 6.00. The lounge features light savoury snacks and non-alcoholic beverages, satellite TV, audio entertainment, newspapers, magazines, telephones, fax facilities, wireless Internet, and mobile charging points. There are also two McDonald's kiosks located on-site at the airport. Airblue has also introduced their own lounge in the international terminal of the airport.[3]

There are a number of banks that passengers can use at the airport including Askari Bank Ltd, Barclays, Citibank, Habib Bank Ltd, MCB Bank Ltd, Royal Bank of Scotland [formerly ABN AMRO], and United Bank Ltd; which offer ATMs, foreign exchange facilities, travellers' cheque encashment, and personal banking.

The Ispahani Hangar

Main article: Ispahani Hangar

Jinnah International Airport is also where the majority of PIA's maintenance network is located, although some of its maintenance work also takes place at Benazir Bhutto International Airport. There are several hangars at the airport, the largest is the Ispahani Hangar (named after Mirza Ahmad Ispahani, the first chairman of PIA) that can accommodate two Jumbo 747s and one narrow body airliner (e.g. Boeing 737) at one time.

On 15 February 2006, the first major overhaul of a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft (known as "C" check) was done at Ispahani Hangar.

Most of the PIA aircraft are checked and regulated at the aircraft hangars in Karachi. The PIA maintenance also check other airline aircraft in Karachi such as Philippine Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Air Universal

Airlines and destinations

A PIA B747-367 at the Domestic Satellite
An Airbus A320 of Air Blue in Karachi.

Jinnah West Satellite Concourse (Domestic)

Jinnah East Satellite Concourse (International)

Airblue A320-200 taxing out to the runway
One of the MNG Airlines 737 aircraft leased by PIA during Hajj season of 2005-2006

Cargo Terminal

Charter

Events

  • On April 7, 1929, Karachi airport became the first airport in British India to be used for a commercial flight, when an aircraft landed with mail en route to Bombay.[4]
  • On August 19, 1980, Saudia Flight 163 flew from Karachi to Riyadh for its first leg. When the aircraft started its second leg to Jeddah, a fire developed. The plane landed, and everyone on board died from the fire.
  • A Pan American Boeing 747 named the Clipper Empress of the Seas, operating as Pan Am Flight 73, was hijacked on September 5, 1986 by Palestinian gunmen after it arrived from Bombay, India. Twenty people were killed when gunmen opened fire on passengers as commandos prepared to storm the airplane while still on the ground.

References

  1. ^ Paul Stephen Dempsey (1999), Airport Planning & Development Handbook: a global survey. McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0071343169
  2. ^ Aviation Statistics of Pakistan
  3. ^ Airblue launches Blue Lounge International
  4. ^ Historic Pakistani Aviation Photos

Further reading

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jinnah International Airport.
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