The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has come up with a last-minute effort to breathe life into some underused airports in the country. While this move is being welcomed by many as a big leap towards enhancing Pakistan’s air transport services, the urgency that is seen in this move points at how poorly managed this sector has been over the years.
It has also been observed that recently Air Vice Marshal Zeeshan Saeed, who is the Director General of this organization, conducted a highly important discussion at PAA’s office, Karachi. Important representatives of the engineering, commerce, and airport services departments participated in the discussion to develop the strategy. The authority now has to undertake the challenging task of developing runways and navigation facilities that would bring domestic flights back on air after years of suspension.
Chronically Closed Airports Have Uphill Task of Reopening
The government has chosen to rejuvenate a number of neglected airports for business purposes as soon as possible.At present, what seems to be the case is that the airports located in Turbat, Dalbandin, Saidu Sharif, and Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan are being made functional once more. While it is true that the Dera Ismail Khan Airport has resumed operations after remaining closed for some years now, there seem to be some reservations about its sustainability.
More than just clearing the runway, there is quite a bit of work that goes into re-opening an airport. The PAA will be obliged to invest heavily in costly security systems, radar systems, and ground crews at airports where aircraft do not operate on a daily basis. In recent years, local airlines have been avoiding smaller routes because of high fuel prices and small numbers of travelers.
Financial Burden Forces Government Intervention
The Ministry of Defence has finally intervened in this situation by directing the PAA to quickly restore all the inactive airports across the country. The reason for the intervention is the large burden imposed by non-functioning airports on the national economy. Non-functional airports that do not produce any income for the civil aviation industry have created serious problems for the aviation industry.
Aside from smaller regional centers, the high-level panel has given some strict instructions concerning the two large installations namely Sukkur and the New Gwadar Airport. The reason for the slow integration of these big centers within the operating network has been an obstruction to economic development and has also annoyed foreign investors.
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Private Sector Concerns Regarding Fleet Availability
The creation of the PAA through the notification issued by SRO.1216(I)/2024, on 9th August, 2024, in a bid to transform management and development in Pakistan aviation infrastructure , has turned out to be futile. This is because, through this crisis, it has been made evident that the newly created body has taken up a dysfunctional system. With no large scale investments and reforms, nothing much will change.
