South Air has flown its first Peshawar-Lahore service, adding a new domestic air option between the two cities and announcing that Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan routes will follow soon.
What happened
The inaugural flight departed Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar at 1:56pm on Monday, 9 November, and landed at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore at 2:30pm. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi was on board. The service was inaugurated on Iqbal Day, and the launch ceremony at Peshawar airport was attended by South Air chief executive Nishat Fatima, a joint secretary from the Ministry of Defence, KP MPAs, senior government and airport officials, and business community representatives. On arrival in Lahore, Kundi was received by Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Provincial Minister for Specialised Healthcare Khawaja Salman Rafique, and MPA Ramesh Kumar.
Speaking at the ceremony, Kundi said his administration had begun working on “T-to-T: from terrorism to tourism”, adding that it could also mean “from terrorism to trade”. He said the flight turns a road journey he put at around 10 hours into a trip of about an hour, and that South Air had the KP government’s support for expanding connectivity to more cities, including Quetta and, in future, Chitral.
South Air had earlier launched flights between Peshawar and Quetta, and in July it began services from Karachi to Quetta via Turbat and to Islamabad via Bahawalpur. Kundi announced that the airline would soon launch flights to Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan as part of its expansion.
The announcement follows Sunday’s meeting in Islamabad between Kundi and Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Amjad Hussain, where the two leaders agreed to open negotiations on longstanding boundary disputes and discussed better air links to Gilgit, with South Air representatives present to discuss additional services.
What it means for travellers
For now, the new service helps travellers between Peshawar and Lahore, cutting a long road journey to about an hour in the air. For Gilgit-Baltistan travellers, the news is a promise rather than a booking option: Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan flights were announced, but no start date, schedule, or fares were given. The only current air link to Gilgit remains PIA’s 44-seat ATR service from Islamabad, which is limited in seats and often cancelled in bad weather. If South Air delivers weather-compliant aircraft on the Islamabad-Gilgit route, as discussed at Sunday’s meeting, it would be the most useful new option for northern Pakistan travellers in years.
What to watch
Watch for South Air to publish a schedule and fares for the Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan routes, and for confirmation of how often the Peshawar-Lahore service will run. Also watch the KP-GB boundary talks agreed on Sunday, which cover Shandur Top, Babusar Top, and areas around the Diamer-Bhasha and Dassu dams, since better road and air access to the north depends on both governments staying at the table.
Source: Dawn
