KARACHI – The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has issued start-up Fly Jinnah with a Regular Public Transport (RPT) license for passenger and cargo flights, a spokesperson for the airline confirmed to ch-aviation.
The NCAA was not immediately available for comment, but aviation services company Tailwind Aviation, which lists Fly Jinnah as a client, confirmed to ch-aviation that the airline would be ready to enter the market in 2023.
The ProPakistani news service reported that the granting of the license followed approval in May from Pakistan’s Cabinet. The PCAA had also certified that the company had fulfilled all conditions prescribed in the National Aviation Policy of 2019 and relevant rules and regulations for the issuance of the license.
According to documents viewed by ProPakistani, M/S Fly Jinnah Services (Pvt.) Limited plans to acquire three aircraft, preferably A320 Family, on a dry-lease and will increase its fleet to five aircraft in the second year and to six by the end of the fifth year of operations.
The airline is a project of Lakson Group, a Pakistani conglomerate based in Karachi. The group did not immediately respond to a request from ch-aviation for comment.
The PCAA documents confirmed, the report said, that Fly Jinnah was registered with the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). The two directors listed are Lakson chairperson Iqbal Ali Lakhani and London-based investment manager Shahnawaz Haidar Nawabi, who will also be the chief executive of the airline. He reportedly holds an MBA from Harvard University and serves as a director on the boards of three companies.
The PCAA confirmed that M/S Fly Jinnah Services (Pvt.) Limited had loss-free paid-up capital of PKR350 million rupees (USD2.2 million). Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior has granted necessary security clearances to the company as required under the National Aviation Policy.
Iqbal Ali Lakhani, Chairman of Lakson Group, said:
“We are excited to partner with Air Arabia in launching Pakistan’s new low-cost carrier. “Fly Jinnah” will serve Pakistan’s travel and tourism sector and will play a constructive role in contributing to the nation’s economic growth.” He added: “This partnership also reflects our commitment to support the development of Pakistan’s air transport sector while providing the citizens and visitors of the country with a new option of value for money air travel. Air Arabia enjoys a track-record of reliable and efficient operations, and we look forward to working closely towards launching and developing the new airline.”
Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia, said:
“We are delighted at Air Arabia Group to partner with Lakson Group on this joint venture to launch Pakistan’s new low-cost carrier. We are confident that “Fly Jinnah” will add value to the air transport sector of Pakistan and directly contribute to the local economy through job creation and the development of travel and tourism sector. We thank Lakson Group and the Government of Pakistan for their trust and we look forward to working hand in hand to develop the new airline, which will serve as a new value-for-money air travel option for the country.”
According to IATA, the air transport industry, including airlines and its supply chain along with the tourism spend are estimated to support US$3.3 billion of GDP in Pakistan. In total, 1 percent of the country’s GDP is supported by inputs to the air transport sector and foreign tourists arriving by air.
