National Flag Carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has ensured 1.5 tonne air cargo from Faisalabad to Karachi while Faisalabad to Jeddah flights would also be made nonstop reducing travelling time from 8 to only 5:30 hours.
Qaiser Iqbal District Manger PIA met with Syed Zia Alumdar Hussain President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) and discussed various matters with a specific focus on the facility of air cargo for this export city.
Syed Zia Alumdar Hussain appreciated the efforts of the chairman PIA Air Marshal Arshad Mehmood Malik to fully exploit the passenger as well as cargo potential of this city. He assured that FCCI will extend full cooperation to the national flag carrier to make it leading and most profitable airline of the world.
He appreciated the facility to accommodate 1.5 tonne air cargo in existing PIA flights from Faisalabad to Karachi from where it would be forwarded to other international destinations. He told that according to conservative estimates air cargo available from Faisalabad is around one thousand tonnes. Out of it only 400 tonnes is directly exported through Faisalabad airport while remaining load is routed through Lahore and Sialkot airports.
He told that the allocation of 1.5 tonnes quota from Faisalabad is a positive sign which will help PIA to assess the availability of air cargo with projected increase in it in the coming days. "It will certainly help PIA to enhance more space for air cargo leading to start a dedicated freight flights from Faisalabad," he said. He told that currently 5 lac people travel from Faisalabad airport and we are expecting that their numbers will jump to 8 lac within the couple of years.
Qaiser Iqbal told that Faisalabad to Jeddah flights have to stay for one and half an hour at Karachi for refuelling. However, now arrangements are being made to make these flights direct and non-stop. "It will trim down the travelling time from 8 to 5:30 hours," he added.
Syed Zia Alumdar Hussain appreciated the steps taken by new management of the PIA and demanded that PIA should now start direct flights from Faisalabad to Dubai and London as sufficient passenger load from Faisalabad is available for these international destinations.