Bacha Khan International Airport
Bacha Khan International Airport AMSL | 1,158 ft / 353 m | ||||||||||
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Coordinates | 33°59′38″N 71°30′53″E / 33.99389°N 71.51472°E | ||||||||||
Website | www | ||||||||||
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Location in Peshawar | |||||||||||
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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.
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
This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2012) |
Strategically situated in the heart of Peshawar, Bacha Khan International Airport is located approximately 180 km from
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
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
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
This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2020) |
Airlines | Destinations |
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Air Arabia | Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah |
Emirates | Dubai–International |
Fly Jinnah[6][7] | Karachi |
Gulf Air | Bahrain |
Qatar Airways | Doha |
Saudia | Jeddah, Medina, Riyadh |
Salam Air | Muscat |
Serene Air | Dubai–International, Jeddah, Karachi, Riyadh,[8] Sharjah |
Incidents and accidents
- On 1 May 1960 a Gary Powers, left Peshawar Airport intending to fly over the Soviet Union. His plane was shot down and he was captured and put on trial in the USSR. This triggered the U-2 crisis of 1960.
- On 26 March 1965, a PIA Lowery Pass. All passengers and crew did not survive the accident and the aircraft was written off.
- A PIA Fokker F27 Friendship was making a night approach at the airport on 23 October 1986. Due to co-pilot error, the aircraft was lower than expected. The aircraft undershot the runway, causing it to land in a ditch which caused the aircraft to break up. Thirteen passengers and crew sustained serious injuries and the aircraft was written off.
- Six international airlines had temporarily suspended flights to Peshawar in view of the deteriorating security situation in that part of Pakistan. This followed a rocket attack on the airport in August 2009. The absence of a functional five star hotel in the city after the Pearl Continental hotel bombing was also said to be one of the causes. The airlines were Saudi Arabian Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Gulf Air, Air Arabia, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways.[9] All the airlines resumed services to the city after a short hiatus, and RAK Airways even commenced new services as well.
- On 15 December 2012, the airport suffered a coordinated assault by a team of terrorists, which killed nine people.
- On 25 June 2014, A PIA flight originating from
- On 23 April 2019, an Sharjah to Peshawar suffered a runway excursion on landing. The aircraft stopped beyond the end of the runway, but still on paved surface. No injuries were reported.[13]
See also
- PAF Base Peshawar, a Pakistani Air Force base adjoined with the airport
- List of airports in Pakistan
- Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority
- Shaheen Airport Services
- Transport in Pakistan
References
- ^ Peshawar Airport gets a new name Archived 24 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-1-5275-4173-3.
- ProQuest 323937544.
- ^ "High level meeting discusses expansion of Peshawar airport in Pakistan". Archived from the original on 11 February 2009.
- ^ "Rs 5bn allocated to expand Peshawar airport". Daily Times (Pakistan). Archived from the original on 25 June 2008.
- ^ "Pakistan's low-cost airline Fly Jinnah set to commence operations after securing license - Islamabad Scene". 20 October 2022.
- ^ "Fly Jinnah". flyjinnah.com. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- ^ "SERENE AIR PLANS PESHAWAR – RIYADH LATE-JULY 2022 LAUNCH". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "The News International: Latest, Breaking, Pakistan, Sports and Video News". Retrieved 1 June 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Landing assault: PIA flight comes under fire over Peshawar airport". The Express Tribune. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ "Search operation: Over 200 arrested following attack on PIA aircraft". The Express Tribune. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ "PK-756 firing: Emirates, Etihad suspend flights to Peshawar". The Express Tribune. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map".
External links
Media related to Peshawar International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Current weather for OPPS at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for PEW at Aviation Safety Network