RAWALPINDI: Passengers arriving from Karachi by a private airline were the last users of Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) before its closure after over half a century on Thursday.

The new Islamabad International Airport (IIA) opened for all commercial flights on Thursday though Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had officially inaugurated it on Tuesday.

The Serene Air flight (SER 500) made its last landing at the BBIA at 9am and departed for Karachi at 10am as SER 501. The BBIA had started its operations with a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight in 1963.

Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, China Airlines, Thai Airways, Oman Air, Etihad Airlines, Saudi Airways, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways and Turkish Airlines operate to and from Islamabad along with PIA, Shaheen Air and Air Blue.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had intimated the citizens that all flights would be operated from the IIA from Thursday.

The PIA shifted its offices and equipment from BBIA to the new airport. The very high frequency (VHF) antenna, which is used to communicate between pilots and flight operation staff, was shifted and affixed at the IIA on Wednesday.

PIA’s PK-300 was the first flight that landed at the new airport from Karachi at 8:55am on Thursday while PK-701 was the first international flight that took off for Manchester.

In a statement, a PIA spokesman said all arrivals and departures had started from the new airport.

He said the process of transition remained very smooth and swift.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2018