LAHORE: The Punjab government will soon acquire modern aircraft on lease for its airline named Air Punjab.

Presiding over a meeting here on Saturday, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz directed to make the Air Punjab operational at the earliest.

She directed to expedite the completion of the phase-I of the Air Punjab project.

“Acquire modern and comfortable aircraft on lease for the Air Punjab at the earliest. Initially, the flight route of Air Punjab will be from Lahore to Islamabad,” she said.

The CM was given a detailed briefing on various aspects of the project. It was decided that the Lahore-Islamabad route would be one of the initial flight routes for Air Punjab. The meeting also reviewed the Murree Glass Train project. The CM directed relevant departments to take necessary measures for the Murree Glass Train initiative.

The CM, in April last, had announced plans to launch the province’s own airline, with operations set to begin using four leased aircraft for domestic routes before expanding to international routes later.

“Four aircraft have been taken on lease to start domestic flights. Within a year, the airline will receive a licence for international flights,” the government said.

The move follows earlier interest shown by the Maryam Nawaz administration in acquiring Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2025