PIA starting flights daily to Skardu & Gilgit from Islamabad

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Abbas Ali
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Re: PIA starting flights daily to Skardu & Gilgit from Islamabad

Post by Abbas Ali »

TAILWIND wrote:
Abbas Ali wrote:One of my favourite photos of PIA Boeing 737-340 at Skardu Airport.

Abbas
From the aircraft livery and vegetation around the rwy, I think it is taking off from old rwy 15. The new 12,000 ft new rwy is tawards east and is surrounded by sand dunes.
Have fond memories from this place. The arrival of PIA flight especially in winters was sort of a festival. We would get latest newspapers, some letters from home plus lot of new faces in the place.
The names of PIA pilots were known to local folks, alongwith the probability of flight landing with a particular pilot at the controls. Adil, Shigri, Siraj few names i remember, thie landing quotient, I won't disclose. :D
Interesting info - thank you for sharing.

Somewhere I have an old photo of a business jet probably a Dassault Falcon departing or landing at Skardu Airport in late 70s or very early 80s.

Abbas
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TAILWIND
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Re: PIA starting flights daily to Skardu & Gilgit from Islamabad

Post by TAILWIND »

Abbass, in 90s when army was looking for a jet, a number of small corporate jets were flown to skardu as part of evaluation procedures. Citation V, Learjet 35, Beechjet400 and Piagio Turboprob (pusher) are a few i recall. Later an A319 also landed at skardu airflield. Lately PAF's G-IV and fatima group's CJ-3 are also known to have landed at Skardu.
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Abbas Ali
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Re: PIA starting flights daily to Skardu & Gilgit from Islamabad

Post by Abbas Ali »

^ Very interesting info - thanks again.

I found smaller version of the business jet photo at Skardu in this 1978 advertisement of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) promoting Skardu as a tourist destination.

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I have a better and larger version of that photo but unable to find it at the moment.

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taha_imran4
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Re: PIA starting flights daily to Skardu & Gilgit from Islamabad

Post by taha_imran4 »

I think atrs were assigned to the skardu route because of the sudden shortage of 737s.
With 9 320s in fleet, I think jet service on the route can be reinstated.
inducedrag
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Re: PIA starting flights daily to Skardu & Gilgit from Islamabad

Post by inducedrag »

Did at any time a B737 go to Gilgit ?
owlventure
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Re: PIA starting flights daily to Skardu & Gilgit from Islamabad

Post by owlventure »

inducedrag wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2023 7:42 am Did at any time a B737 go to Gilgit ?
No. It is impossible for the 737 to land at Gilgit due to the runway length falling below its minimum requirements.