Bacha Khan International Airport

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Bacha Khan International Airport

Pashto: د باچا خان نړیوال هوایی ډګر
Bacha Khan International Airport Peshawar KPK.jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/Operator Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority
Serves Peshawar
Location Peshawar-24820 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Opened1927(97 years ago) (1927)
Hub for
Elevation  AMSL 1,158 ft / 353 m
Coordinates 33°59′38″N71°30′53″E / 33.99389°N 71.51472°E / 33.99389; 71.51472
Website www.peshawarairport.com.pk
Maps
Bacha Khan International Airport
Location in Peshawar
Pakistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
PEW/OPPS
Location of Airport in Peshawar
Pakistan location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
PEW/OPPS
PEW/OPPS (Pakistan)
Asia laea location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
PEW/OPPS
PEW/OPPS (Asia)
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
17/359,0002,743 Asphalt
Statistics (July 2021 - June 2022)
Passengers1,066,513
Aircraft movements7,452
Cargo handled6,260 metric tons

Bacha Khan International Airport( IATA : PEW, ICAO : OPPS), formerly known as Peshawar International Airport, is an international airport located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located in the southwestern end of the city of Peshawar, it is the fourth-busiest airport in Pakistan.

Contents

One of the main runways of the airport is crossed by a railway line known as the Khyber train safari, which runs to the town of Landi Kotal in the Khyber Pass for the express purpose of tourism. The airport was renamed on 27 January 2012 after Abdul Ghaffar Khan (nicknamed Bacha Khan), leader of the Khudai Khidmatgar and a prominent Pashtun Nationalist figure. [1] [2] The airport was extensively reconstructed from 2016 to 2018.

History

Strategically situated in the heart of Peshawar, Bacha Khan International Airport is located approximately 180 km from Islamabad (federal capital of Pakistan) which makes it about a two-hour drive from the capital via M-1 motorway. Since Peshawar is the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, it provides world connections for the majority of the northwest region of the country and adjoining areas of Afghanistan. Since the province has a large Afghan Pashtun community residing within KPK, Afghanistan flights have always been on the rise.

The airport traces its origins to 1927 when there was a small airfield that catered to much of the British Empire and Imperial Airways aircraft that were either travelling onwards to the east (e.g. to China and Malaysia/Singapore) or west (e.g. Europe and America). For this reason the city was given the nickname "Gateway to the East" because it linked the traditional oriental culture to modern occidental traditions.

The airport gained importance after the independence of Pakistan from the British Raj; the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan (CAA) and the Pakistan Air Force started to use the airfield jointly for both military and civil operations. There were countless flights operated to and from Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, as well as other cities within the newly formed state.

The airport achieved international status in 1965 when the first flight was operated from Kabul, Afghanistan to Peshawar. The flight was operated by the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). As years went on the airport grew with more flights and aircraft and relative upgrade was carried out from time to time. It was not until 1981 that the CAA extended the terminal to meet future needs for the next decade and to meet the estimated growth of passengers. The apron was developed fully by 1986, where the airport was able to handle four widebody aircraft and two small narrow body aircraft at one time.

PIA commenced service to Birmingham in July 2004. [3] In January 2008 the provincial government met to discuss the expansion work needed to upgrade the quality of the aircraft in terms of facilities, terminal modernisation and cargo growth. [4] In June 2008 the Deputy Director General of the CAA, Air Vice Marshal Sajid Habib, said that five billion rupees have been allocated to expand and develop Peshawar airport. Details of the work performed are ambiguous. [5]

Structure

Peshawar is a major passenger hub with 75% flights internationally bound. The airport is currently under evaluation to be upgraded. The CAA is currently working with the provincial government to develop the airport to meet international standards. The airport has some facilities to handle the basic needs of travellers, such as telephone booths (domestic/international), currency exchange, automatic teller machines (ATMs), Internet stations (powered by Wateen), information counters, gifts and souvenir shops, snack shops, rental car services, and a post office.

The runway is 9,000 feet (2,700 m) long, 150 feet (46 m) wide with 10-foot-wide (3.0 m) shoulders on either side corresponding to International Civil Aviation Organisation Category 4E. It is crossed by a (rarely-operational) railway line, one of the few such runways in the world. Max capacity: Boeing 777-300ER. There is nose-in parking for 4 wide-bodied aircraft at a time or 3 Airbus and 2 narrow-body aircraft at a time. The airport has 2 air bridges which were constructed in 2018.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Air Arabia Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah
airblue Abu Dhabi, Dubai–International, Jeddah, Karachi, Sharjah
AirSial Karachi
Emirates Dubai–International
Fly Jinnah [6] [7] Karachi
Gulf Air Bahrain
Pakistan International Airlines Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Chitral, Dammam, Doha, Dubai–International, Fujairah, Islamabad, Jeddah, Karachi, Muscat, Quetta, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh, Sharjah
Qatar Airways Doha
Saudia Jeddah, Medina, Riyadh
Salam Air Muscat
Serene Air Dubai–International, Jeddah, Karachi, Riyadh, [8] Sharjah

Incidents and accidents

See also

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References

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  3. "Peshawar route opens". Birmingham Post. 15 July 2004. ProQuest   323937544.
  4. "High level meeting discusses expansion of Peshawar airport in Pakistan". Archived from the original on 11 February 2009.
  5. "Rs 5bn allocated to expand Peshawar airport". Daily Times (Pakistan). Archived from the original on 25 June 2008.
  6. "Pakistan's low-cost airline Fly Jinnah set to commence operations after securing license - Islamabad Scene". 20 October 2022.
  7. "Fly Jinnah". flyjinnah.com. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  8. "SERENE AIR PLANS PESHAWAR – RIYADH LATE-JULY 2022 LAUNCH". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
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  13. "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map".

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