Jinnah International Airport
Jinnah International Airport previously
Quaid-e-Azam International Airport is
Pakistan's largest international and domestic airport. It is located in
Karachi,
Sindh,
Pakistan. It is known as the
Jinnah Terminal as well. The airport is named for
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was also known as
Quaid-e-Azam ("Great Leader").
During the 1940s there was a
Kala Chapra (also known as the Black Hangar) at the Karachi airport. It was a huge black colored hangar constructed by the
British for the British
R101 Airship. Only three hangars were ever built in the world to dock and hangar the R101 airships. Unfortunately the R101 airship didn't arrive in Karachi (then part of the British Raj), it crashed early in its journey in
France. This hangar was so huge that aircraft used it as a visual marker while attempting VFR (Visual) landing at Karachi. This hangar was also known as the landmark of Karachi.
During the 1960s, President General
Ayub Khan ordered this hangar to be torn down, thereby destroying a notable part of the aviation heritage in Pakistan.
Jinnah International Airport was once a much busier airport. In
1960's and
1970's was included in the destinations of several major airlines of the world including
British Airways,
Lufthansa,
Alitalia,
JAT Yugoslavia Airlines,
Ethiopian Airlines,
Egypt Air,
East African Airways,
Kenya Airways,
Yemenia,
Qantas,
Air France,
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines,
Pan Am,
MEA,
Swissair,
SAS and
Kuwait Airways. However, due to terrorist acitivities that rocked the city of
Karachi in mid-
1980's, several airlines discontinued their serviceto the airport [
1]. However in the past couple of years the dwindling numbers of airlines does seem to have stabilised somewhat and whilst there hasn't been a marked incrase in the numbers of airlines flying to Karachi a few have either started or resumed flights e.g. Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines. Economic factors may be partly responsible and as the economy of Karachi and subsequently Pakistan expands there may yet be more carriers willing to return to Jinnah International.
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Jinnah Terminal at Karachi Int'l Airport, Karachi |
It has 16 passenger gates and is able to handle 30 planes at the same time. Six million passengers use the airport annually, while the airport itself boasts a capacity of handling up to 12 million passengers in a year.
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
Aero Asia International,
Air Blue,
Shaheen Air and the new airlines soon to be launched;
Pearl Air &
Safe Air.
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.
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
Islamabad International Airport. There are several hangars at the airport, the largest is the Isphhani Hangar (named after a very historic person in Pakistan's history) 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 and
Turkish Airlines.
*
Aero Asia International (Abu Dhabi, Al-Ain, Doha, Dubai, Faisalabad, Islamabad, Lahore, Muscat, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Sukkur)
*
Airblue (Dubai, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Quetta)
*
Air China (Beijing, Kuwait)
*
Azerbaijan Airlines (Baku)
*
Biman Bangladesh Airlines (Dhaka)
*
Belavia (Seasonal)
*
Cathay Pacific (Bangkok, Hong Kong)
*
Emirates (Dubai)
*
Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi)
*
Gulf Air (Bahrain, Muscat)
*
Iran Air (Tehran-Imam Khomeini)
*
Malaysia Airlines (Dubai, Kuala Lumpur)
*
Pakistan International Airlines (Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Amsterdam, Athens, Bahawalpur, Bahrain, Bangkok, Beijing, Chicago-O'Hare, Colombo, Dalbandin, Delhi, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dhahran (Dammam), Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Faisalabad, Frankfurt, Gwadar, Houston-Intercontinental, Islamabad, Jacobabad, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Lahore, London-Heathrow, Manchester (UK) , Mashhad, Milan-Malpensa, Moenjodaro, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Multan, Mumbai, Muscat, New York-JFK, Panjgur, Pasni, Peshawar, Quetta, Rahim yar Khan, Riyadh, Singapore, Sukkur, Tokyo-Narita, Toronto, Turbat)
*
Phoenix Aviation (Bishkek, Sharjah)
*
Qatar Airways (Doha)
*
Saudi Arabian Airlines (Jeddah, Riyadh)
*
Shaheen Air (Abu Dhabi, Al-Ain, Doha, Dubai, Islamabad, Kuwait, Lahore, Muscat, Peshawar, Quetta)
*
Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
*
SriLankan Airlines (Colombo, Mumbai)
*
Syrian Arab Airlines (Damascus, Dammam)
*
Thai Airways International (Bangkok, Muscat)
*
Turkish Airlines (Istanbul-Atatürk)
*
Turkmenistan Airlines (Ashgabat)
|
Front View of the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport, later renamed to Jinnah International Airport |
*
Askari Aviation*
Atlas Air*
Cargolux*
Dolphin Air*
Lufthansa Cargo*
Pakistan International Cargo *
Phoenix Aviation*
TCS Courier*
Royal Airlines Cargo*
Shaheen Air International*
Star Air*
Royal Airlines (Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Sukkur)
*
Schon Air (Lahore)
The CIP/VIP Lounge can used by all first and business class passengers on all flights out of Karachi. Passengers being issued an airline card from the Check-in can only enter the lounge. Also passengers wanting to use the lounge have to pay six dollars before entering.
There are a number of banks that passengers can use while waiting for their flight that include: Askari Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Union Bank, and ABN AMRO Bank .
Other services include TVs for Entertainment, Newspapers and magazines, Telephones, Fax & free Internet.
*A Pan American Boeing 747 named the
Clipper Empress of the Seas, operating as
Pan Am Flight 73, was hijacked on
September 5,
1986. Twenty people were killed when the airplane was stormed on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan.
*
List of airports in Pakistan*
Airlines of Pakistan*
Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority*
Shaheen Airport Services*
Transport in PakistanOfficial
* New Official Website of Jinnah International Airport
* Old Official Website of Quaid-e-Azam Airport
