Newly built Islamabad International Airport inaugurated formally

Islamabad's newly built airport has been formally inaugurated by the country's premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in an impressive ceremony.

Following the inauguration of the "Y" shaped newly built airport, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the airport was built in accordance with international standards. "It will not only open the doors of economic activity but will provide passengers with the great service."

Soon after formal inauguration, the first flight of the Pakistan International Airlines on Tuesday landed at the new Islamabad Airport. One of the pilots was holding Pakistan's flag from cockpit window.

The PIA in its tweet took the credit for opening the flight operations at new Islamabad airport.

Like always PIA creates history...once more! PK300 opens the new Islamabad International Airport for the world!! #FirstFlightPIA #NewAirportwithPIA #PIA pic.twitter.com/hTRaGfS8eY

— PIA (@Official_PIA) May 1, 2018

The Prime Minister said new airport, in the context of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, will help the country become a new hub of interconnectivity. He said work is underway to give the best public transport system to this airport like elsewhere in the world so that passengers face no hurdles or delay in their air travel.

The Prime Minister said in today's world aviation has become a necessity and more and more people prefer air travel. He said the government has not only started a number of development projects but also completed the existing ones expeditiously.

The extension of Lahore Airport will start this month while the projects of Sialkot, Multan, and Faisalabad airports have been completed.

Prime Minister hoped that the Civil Aviation Authority will respond to challenges and adapt accordingly. He said new airlines will come to Pakistan while the existing ones will also expand their operations in order to give air passengers more facilities.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the PML-N government has a development-oriented agenda and it completed a number of projects to facilitate the public. He said our government constructed more than 1700 kilometer motorways, while highway from Peshawar to Karachi has been completed and Gwadar Port became operational. The government has added more than 10,000 MW of electricity to the national grid while gas connections have been increased by 30 percent.

He appreciated the hard work and dedication of Advisor to Aviation Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan, former Secretary Aviation Irfan Elahi, and former DG Civil Aviation Authority Air Marshal (retired) Asim Suleman and the staff of CAA.

Later, the Prime Minister distributed appreciation certificates among the officials of aviation division and Civil Aviation Authority.

In April, a mock PIA flight was operated at the newly built airport which spreads over 19 square kilometers with 15 jetties (passenger boarding bridges), including facilities to accommodate two double-deck A380, the world’s largest airplane, 15 remote bays and seven remote bays for small aircraft such as ATRs. It will be the biggest international airport in the country in terms of landing and passenger handling facilities.