ISLAMABAD – Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to ensure anair cargo quota of 1.5 tons for Faisalabad to Karachi flights.
The national flag carrier will also reduce the travel time from eight hoursto 5.5 hours on the Faisalabad to Jeddah route, making it a direct/non-stopflight.
PIA District Manager Qaiser Iqbal conferred these decisions in a meetingwith Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) President Syed ZiaAlumdar Hussain.
Iqbal apprised the FCCI President about a series of PIA conferences thatparticularly focused on the air cargo shipment facility for Faisalabad.
The FCCI President welcomed PIA’s initiative to set aside 1.5 tons of aircargo quote on Faisalabad-Karachi flights from where the cargo will bedispatched to the international destinations.——————————
Hussain underlined that as much as 1000 tons of air cargo is available inFaisalabad as per conservative estimates. Of this, only 400 tons aredirectly exported through the Faisalabad airport while the remaining wasrouted through Lahore and Sialkot airports, he said.
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He further said that the allocation of 1.5-ton air cargo would help thenational airline in the assessment of the air cargo facility with estimatesof an increase in the near future.
Moreover, the initiative of enhancing the air cargo capacity can pave wayfor dedicated freight services from Faisalabad. “Currently, 500,000 peopletravel from the Faisalabad airport every year and we expect the number tojump to 800,000 within the next couple of years,” said Hussain.
The PIA District Manager told that they are working to start non-stopflights, as currently, Faisalabad-Jeddah flights stop at the Karachiairport for 1.5 hours for refueling. Doing so will cut down the travel timefrom eight hours to 5.5 hours.
Hussain appreciated the initiatives brought about by the PIA’s newmanagement and asked the air carrier to start direct flights fromFaisalabad to Dubai and London. There is ample passenger demand for suchdestinations, he added.
