Begum Nusrat Bhutto International Airport

Begum Nusrat Bhutto International Airport Sukkur بیگم نصرت بھٹو انٹرنیشنل ائیرپورٹ سکھر
IATA: SKZ ICAO: OPSK
Summary
Airport type	Military/Public
Owner	Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority
Operator	Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority
Serves	Sukkur, Sibi, Jacobabad, Khairpur, Ghotki
Location	Sukkur-65200
Opened	1942 (1942)
Elevation AMSL	196 ft / 60 m
Coordinates	27°43′19″N 068°47′30″E
Maps
SKZ Location of airport in Pakistan Show map of Sindh SKZ SKZ (Pakistan) Show map of Pakistan
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 14/32 9,000 2,743 Bitumen
Statistics (2017-18)
Passengers 114,081 Passenger change 6.5% Aircraft movements 2,461

Sukkur Airport (IATA: SKZ, ICAO: OPSK), also known as Begum Nusrat Bhutto International Airport Sukkur, is a domestic airport located in Sukkur, Sindh, Pakistan. It is a medium-sized airport located about 8 km (5.0 mi) from the centre of Sukkur, and serves Sukkur and its surrounding areas; Khairpur, Jacobabad, Sibi, and Shikarpur.^[1]

Sukkur International Airport is the second main operational airport in Sindh, after Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.^[2] The paved runway is about 2,700 metres long. It also handles international flights, especially in time of emergencies and because of bad weather conditions.^[3]

It is the main alternative to Karachi's Jinnah International Airport, with a distance of about 350 km (220 mi), well under an hour's flight time by turboprop aircraft, and less than 35 minutes by jet.

It was built in 1942 and was originally known as Sukkur Aerodrome, and was used as a military airfield by the British Raj. The airport was renamed as Sukkur Airport in 1980. On 26 January 2012, the Provincial Assembly of Sindh unanimously passed a resolution to name the airport after Nusrat Bhutto (مادرجمہوریت، بیگم نصرت بھثو), a former First Lady of Pakistan in the 1970s.^[4]

During Hajj season every year, Hajj flights operate from Sukkur to Jeddah and Medina in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and back.^[5] The first Hajj flight from the Begum Nusrat Bhutto Airport, Sukkur, left for Jeddah on 6 August 2016. The Hajj flight operation continued until 13 August 2016.^[6]

Planned upgrades and expansion

In September 2022, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority assigned the upgrade and expansion project of the Begum Nusrat Bhutto Airport Sukkur to the National Engineering Services Pakistan.^[7] According to the plan, the airport is planned to be turned into an international airport for wide-body aircraft with all allied facilities. The renovation project includes extension of the runway and the taxiway, reconstruction of the apron and terminal building, along with other related facilities.^{[8][9][10][11]}

International Status

In September 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) accelerated the process of granting international status to Begum Nusrat Bhutto Airport (BNBA) in Sukkur.

After getting international status, it will be the second international airport in Sindh.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Pakistan International Airlines	Islamabad, Karachi

See also

• Begum Nusrat Bhutto
• List of airports in Pakistan
• Airlines of Pakistan
• Begum Nusrat Bhutto Women University
• Transport in Pakistan
• Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority

References

1. "Pakistan Aviation news". twitter.com.
2. Uddin, Salah (2022-11-17). "Sukkur, DI Khan airports to get international status". ARY NEWS. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
3. "PIA plane makes emergency landing at Islamabad airport". The Nation. 2022-11-24. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
4. "Welcome to the Website of Provincial Assembly of Sindh". Provincial Assembly of Sindh. 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
5. "Hajj flights from Pakistani cities start operation". Saudi Press Agency. 24 November 2006. Archived from the original on 2021-06-24.
6. "Meeting held to finalise Haj flights from Sukkur". The News International. 2016-07-21. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
7. "Nespak consultancy for mega CAA projects". Dawn. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
8. "PCAA assigns NESPAK mega development projects". Daily Times. 2022-11-09. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
9. "Three uplift projects in aviation sector launched". The News International. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
10. "NESPAK to work on aviation sector's mega development projects". The Nation. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
11. "PCAA assigns task of mega uplift projects to Nespak". Business Recorder. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2022-11-10.