Pakistan Airport Authority has announced a new date for operationalizing New Gwadar Airport on Jan 20 for international routes. A new NOTAM was issued by the Authority on Thursday.
New NOTAM About Gawadar International Airport
The new NOTAM reads; “Establishment of New Gwadar International Airport will be operational with effect from Jan 20, 2025.”
The PAA in its earlier NOTAM has said that it would start international flights on Jan 15, 2025. The inaugural flight from Gwadar to Muscat will be operated by PIA. It was likely the Defense Minister, Kh Asif would be the chief guest in this ceremony.
First Flight from Gwadar to Muscat
According to PIAC—the official flag carrier—has said that it will resume domestic flights from Karachi to Gwadar thrice a week but it will also start its first flight from Gwadar to Muscat. The PIA has also begun to online booking for this flight and it will operate flights once a week.
According to Flightconnections.com, around 10 international operators will provide a connecting flight facility to international passengers for New Gawdar Airport. This will add more traffic to this newly built airport. According to an estimate presented before the Prime Minister, nearly 4 million passengers will commute annually from and away to this new airport.
Prime Minister Views on Gwadar Airport
Earlier, Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif virtually inaugurated the New Gwadar Airport last week. The Pakistan Airport Authority and other concerned departments informed the Prime Minister. According to PIA, that they have finalized all the arrangements to facilitate passengers commuting from Gwadar to other capitals of the world. Prime Minister in his address said, “The New Gwadar Airport is a gift from China for the people of Balochistan.”
While presiding over a meeting, the Prime Minister was informed that the Pakistan Airport Authority has already issued the Aerodrome Certificate to the New Gwadar Airport, whereas, Pakistan Customs has also notified the airport. Similarly, the Pakistan Airport Authority through a NOTAM has stated that the flight operation from the newly built New Gwadar Airport will start from Jan 15, 2025.
The meeting also heard that various departments such as Pakistan Airport Authority, Airport Security Force, Pakistan Customs, Anti-Narcotics Force (ASF), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and Border Health Service have already deputed personnel at the airport.
The meeting informed that they have allocated the land for facilities of cold storage, warehouses, courier services. They also allocated cargo shades, technical ground support gadgets, fuel farms, hotels, and shopping malls at the airport. All the banks registered with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) were also in contact with regard to the establishment of bank branches and ATM machines at the airport.
