RAWALPINDI: Nearly four years after the inauguration of Islamabad International Airport (IIA) by the then prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on May 1, 2018, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) inaugurated its first engineering hangar for aircraft maintenance at the airport.

       The hangar, named after Noor Khan, will be used for maintenance of the PIA aircraft.

       A PIA spokesman said that the planes will no longer need to be sent to Karachi airport for maintenance.

       Arshad Malik, the chief executive officer PIA, inaugurated the engineering hangar on Sunday.

       The CEO said PIA was expanding its presence keeping in view the future requirements of the IIA. Most of the PIA operations are being shifted to the north due to passengers’ demand, the CEO said. Though most of the flights were in the north, the planes had to be transferred to Karachi for maintenance which was very costly.

       He said due to the maintenance of the planes in Islamabad, the positioning costs will be gradually reduced.

       Mr Malik said Noor Khan had many services for PIA and during his tenure the national flag carrier made great strides and became one of the leading airlines in the world.

       “Attributing a hanger to his name is a tribute to his services.”

       Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2022