KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country’s flag carrier, launched its first flight, PK-197, to Muscat at 9:41 a.m. today, marking the formal start of international flight operations from the New Gwadar International Airport.
Later in the afternoon, the same ATR plane, flight PK-198, will make its way back to Gwadar from Muscat.
The plane, flight PK-503, had flown from Karachi to Gwadar earlier in the day, transporting passengers to the cutting-edge facility.
From the New Gwadar International Airport, PIA now operates a single weekly international route to Muscat. Senior PIA officials said goodbye to the 39 passengers on the inaugural flight as they left for Muscat.
On January 20, the airport, a centerpiece of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), opened for business.
