Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is set to resume flights between Islamabad and Chitral after nearly three years, with operations starting April 5, 2025. Initially, the service will run once a week.
According to an official from PIA’s district sales office, an ATR-72 flight is scheduled to arrive at Chitral Airport at 10 a.m. on April 5, with a return flight to Islamabad two hours later.
However, the decision to operate only one flight per week has disappointed Chitral residents, who have urged the airline to increase the frequency to daily flights to meet rising demand. Previously, this route had daily operations until 2010, after which the frequency was reduced to four flights per week before eventually being discontinued.
PIA Privatization Efforts Continue
Meanwhile, the Privatization Commission has presented a new transaction structure to the Cabinet Committee on Privatization, proposing the divestment of 51% to 100% of PIA’s share capital.
The plan includes transferring management control along with the divested equity. Final terms and conditions will be determined during the bidding process and outlined in the bid documents, pending approval from the Cabinet Committee on Privatization.