ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Pakistan’s new airline, South Air, on Thursday commenced scheduled flight operations from Jinnah International Airport Karachi, introducing new routes aimed at improving regional connectivity across the country.
According to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA), the airline’s flight from Karachi continued from Turbat to Quetta and from Karachi to Islamabad via Bahawalpur.
The inaugural flights, Z8911 to Turbat and Z8942 to Bahawalpur, departed from Jinnah International Airport earlier in the day.
The new operations add fresh capacity to the country’s domestic aviation sector, offering passengers more travel options while improving access to key regional destinations.
The move is expected to strengthen links between southern Pakistan and other parts of the country, particularly underserved areas where air travel plays an important role in mobility and commerce.
Initial flight schedule
As per the initial schedule, South Air will operate one weekly flight on the Karachi-Turbat route and three weekly flights on the Bahawalpur route.
The airline has also announced plans to further expand its domestic network with future services connecting Karachi to Peshawar, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, and Gwadar.
Operating under the Tourism Promotion and Regional Integration (TPRI) Licence, South Air’s expansion is expected to contribute to the promotion of tourism, facilitate trade and business travel, and improve access to regional destinations through enhanced air connectivity.
Earlier, the airline received its first ATR 72-500, a turboprop aircraft suited to smaller airports, on wet lease from abroad to support the new operations ahead of test flights to Gwadar and Quetta later that month.
South Air is led by chief executive Nishat Fatima, whom the airline describes as the first woman in Pakistan to head an airline.
The development is being viewed as a positive step toward strengthening domestic air travel and enhancing connectivity between Karachi and key cities of Balochistan.
