ISLAMABAD: The first commercial flight landed at Pakistan’s new Gwadar International Airport on Monday following a months-long delay in the opening of the Beijing-funded facility in volatile Balochistan province.
The airport’s opening was postponed from Aug 14 to the end of 2024 due to a security review sparked by a series of deadly attacks by separatist militants in Balochistan, in Pakistan’s southwest. Then, on Jan 10, the airport was due to open, but this was again delayed.
“The $246-million Chinese-backed project is expected to grow into one of Pakistan’s biggest airports and serve both domestic and international travel,” the Pakistan Aviation Authority (PAA) said in a statement.
“Pakistan achieved a landmark moment in its aviation history on Monday as the first commercial flight successfully landed at the new Gwadar International Airport,” the statement read, adding the new airport is poised to play a pivotal role in connecting Pakistan to global markets and facilitating trade, tourism, and economic development.
PIA Flight PK-503 departed from Karachi at 9.50 am and touched down at the airport at 11.15 am, carrying 46 passengers. In a video shared by PAA, the PIA flight was seen being greeted by a traditional water salute by water bowsers as it landed.
China has pledged more than $65 billion for infrastructure, energy, and other projects in Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). As part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Pakistan is also creating a deep-water port near the new Gwadar airport, a joint venture between Pakistan, Oman, and China that is nearing completion. Chinese people and projects have been frequently attacked in the past by separatists who view Beijing as a foreign invader trying to gain control of impoverished but mineral-rich Balochistan, the site of a decades-long insurgency.
Recent attacks, including one in Oct 2024 in which two Chinese workers were killed in a suicide bombing in Karachi, have forced Beijing to publicly criticise Pakistan for security lapses. In recent months, the media has widely reported that China wants its own security forces on the ground to protect its nationals and projects, a demand Islamabad has long resisted.