PAA steps up plan to restore inactive airports across Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has decided to speed up efforts to rehabilitate and reopen inactive airports across the country as part of a broader push to improve air links between regions, familiar with a high-level meeting held at the authority’s headquarters in Karachi.

According to the sources, the meeting was chaired by PAA Director General Air Vice Marshal Zeeshan Saeed and attended by senior officials from airport services, engineering services and the commercial department. During the session, officials were asked to move forward with the revival of airports in Dera Ismail Khan, Turbat, Dalbandin and Saidu Sharif.

The same meeting also issued directions regarding the restoration of operations at Sukkur, New Gwadar and other facilities, the sources said. The development comes as the Ministry of Defence and the PAA continue recent efforts aimed at rehabilitating dormant aviation infrastructure and strengthening regional air connectivity.

Earlier this month, Dera Ismail Khan Airport was restored after remaining inactive for years, in what sources described as part of a wider campaign to bring non-operational airports back into service. The sources further said that the Ministry of Defence has instructed the PAA to expedite the restoration of all inactive airports nationwide.

Broader aviation push

The meeting also reviewed matters linked to a new private airline, although no further details were immediately available, according to the sources.

The revival plan is taking shape after the creation of the Pakistan Airports Authority by the Ministry of Aviation through a statutory notification dated August 9, 2024, bearing SRO.1216(I)/2024. The authority was established to improve the management, operation and development of airports and related services across the country.

The latest move indicates an official focus on restoring facilities that have remained unused or underutilised, while bringing more parts of the country into the national aviation network. The airports identified in the meeting span multiple regions, reflecting an effort to widen access to air travel infrastructure beyond major urban centres.

Sources said the Karachi meeting formed part of ongoing institutional efforts to operationalise inactive aviation assets under the direction of the relevant authorities. No timeline for the reopening of the identified airports was disclosed in the information available from the meeting.