THIS is with reference to the report ‘First PIA flight from Lahore lands at Skardu Airport’ (April 8). The development is encouraging on the tourism front and the flight was warmly welcomed at Skardu airport where it received the traditional water salute, as can be seen in the accompanying image. However, there is a critical concern about airport logistics in these Covid-affected times.

The Skardu airport’s departure lounge is a small hall with a seating capacity of about 150 passengers, which also happens to be the capacity of the Airbus 320-200 which has daily flights from Islamabad. It is the only daily flight to Skardu.

Before boarding the return flight, there is a 30-40-minute wait in the departure lounge. All the passengers are crammed in that small hall, which is a recipe for disaster in terms of chances of Covid spread as the hall is without proper air circulation or ventilation.

Fortunately, just outside the departure lounge, there is a large garden that could easily accommodate the passengers while they wait for the tarmac buses to take them to the aircraft which is parked about three kilometres away.

There is no security threat as all passengers are cleared before being allowed entry to the departure lounge. I urge the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to realise the gravity of the situation and arrange seating for the passengers outside the departure lounge at Skardu airport in the best interest of its own staff and of the passengers.

Anisur Rahman

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2021