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Karachi Airport
 Karachi
International Airport or Quaid-e-Azam International Airport (IATA:
KHI) is Pakistan's largest international and domestic airport.
It is located in Karachi, 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) 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 aircrafts.
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, Egypt Air, East
African Airways, Kenya Airways, Air France, Qantas, KLM Royal
Dutch Airlines, Pan Am, MEA, Swissair, SAS, Lufthansa, and
Kuwait Airways . 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
stabilized 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.
Flights and
Passengers
In fiscal year 2004-2005, over 5.6 million passengers used
Jinnah International Airport. 49,283 aircraft movements were
registered.
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.
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. 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
McDonalds kiosks located on-site at the airport.
There are a number of banks that passengers can use at the
airport including Askari Bank Ltd, 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.
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