THE 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, and is also commonly known as the Jinnah Terminal. The airport is named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was also known as Quaid-e-Azam ("The Great Leader").

The existing capacity allows to handle upto 30 aircrafts at one time. The facility can handle upto 12 million passengers per year. The airport is also provides primary hub for the flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as well as other smaller airlines. The airport is equipped with aircraft engineering and overhauling facilities with Ispahani Hangar for wide-body aircraft.

HISTORY OF JINNAH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
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.

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, Lufthansa, Interflug, Tarom, Alitalia, JAT Yugoslavia Airlines, Aeroflot, Philippine Airlines, Nigeria Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air, East African Airways, Kenya Airways, Yemenia, Iran Air, Air France, Qantas, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Pan Am, MEA, Swissair, SAS 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. 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 increase in the number 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.

JINNAH TERMINAL

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.

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.

THE ISPAHANI HANGER

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.

JINNAH WEST SATELLITE (DOMESTIC)

Aero Asia International (Faisalabad, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Sukkur)
Air Blue (Faisalabad, Gwadar, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta)
Pakistan International Airlines (Bahawalpur, Dalbandin, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gwadar, Islamabad, Jacobabad, Lahore, Moenjodaro, Multan, Panjgur, Pasni, Peshawar, Quetta, Rahim yar Khan, Sukkur, Turbat)
Shaheen Air (Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta)

JINNAH EAST SATELLITE (INTERNATIONAL)

Aero Asia International(Abu Dhabi, Al-Ain, Doha, Dubai, Muscat)
Air Arabia (Sharjah)
Air Blue (Dubai)
Air Universal (Amman) (scheduled charter)
Air China (Beijing, Kuwait)
Biman Bangladesh Airlines (Dhaka)
Cathay Pacific (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Hong Kong)
Emirates (Dubai)
Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi)
Gulf Air (Bahrain, Muscat)
Iran Air (Tehran-Meherabad)
Kyrgyzstan Airlines (Bishkek) (scheduled charters)
Malaysia Airlines (Dubai, Kuala Lumpur)
Pakistan International Airlines (Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Bahrain, Colombo, Dammam, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, London-Heathrow, Manchester(UK), Mumbai, Muscat, Riyadh, Singapore, Toronto-Pearson)
Qatar Airways (Doha)
Saudi Arabian Airlines (Dammam, Jeddah, Medinah, Riyadh)
Shaheen Air (Abu Dhabi, Al-Ain, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Muscat)
Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
Sri Lankan Airlines (Colombo, Mumbai)
Syrian Arab Airlines (Damascus, Dammam)
Thai Airways International (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Muscat)
Turkish Airlines (Istanbul-Atatürk)

TERMINAL 2 (CARGO)
Askari Aviation
Atlas Air
Cargolux
Dolphin Air
DHL
FedEx
Xpress
Pakistan International Airlines Cargo (operated by MNG Airlines)
Phoenix Aviation
TCS Courier
Royal Cargo
Shaheen Air International
Star Air
Swiss International Airlines World Cargo (operated by MNG Airlines)

TERMINAL 3 (CHARTER)
JS Air (Private) Limited
Royal Airlines
Schon Air

FORMER OPERATORS
Airlines that stopped flying to Karachi Airport, mostly between the 1980's and 90's, while a few in the 70's and before that.

 

VIP/CIP LOUNGE

The CIP/VIP Lounge can be 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.