Faisalabad International Airport

[ghazi52]

Faisalabad International Airport

Faisalabad International Airport (IATA: LYP, ICAO: OPFA) is situated on Jhang Road, 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) away from the city centre of Faisalabad, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It cater mainly to the population of Faisalabad, Jaranwala, Jhang, Chiniot, Gojra, Dijkot, Khurrianwala, Sangla Hill, Toba Tek Singh, Rabwah, Sargodha, Bhawana, Chak Jhumra, Khichian, Jahangir Klan and Lalian.

EARLY HISTORY

The airport traces into origins not too far into the past. The founder of the city decided that Faisalabad had a strategic position within the British empire. In 1942, the local government gave permission for the construction of a bricked strip measuring 5000' by 100'. Various regional aircraft used the strip for a short time however as technology progressed the airstrip became quite out-dated.

POST INDEPENDENCE

The national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) began domestic operations in 1958 operating various flights from Karachi to expand on exports and imports from the city. It was not until 1965, the bricked airstrip was re-built to meet standards at that time. The surface was built using bitumen and the length of the runway increased to 9000' by 100' to allow the airport to handle larger jet fuelled aircraft. During 1966–1967 the construction of an airport terminal and an apron to handle prop aircraft such as the Fokker f-27 friendship was constructed.

In 1972 a new parallel runway with dimensions 9000 feet by 100 feet was constructed west of the existing runway, since the existing runway had deteriorated quite significantly. The new runway was designed to handle even larger aircraft such as the boeing 737. In 1974 a jet apron, taxiway-b, air traffic control building and met offices were constructed. A premium lounge and ils were installed in 1985. In 1986 the terminal building was extended to accommodate greater number of passengers and meet future growth in air travel for the city. In 1991, the old runway was widened, strengthened and extended reaching dimensions of 9270' by 150' with surface bitumen to accommodate airbus aircraft such as airbus 310s. In 1993, cip lounge was constructed and terminal building was extended to accommodate greater travel growth. In 1998, direct hajj operations were started from the airport annually, allowing more flights and traffic growth for the airport.

UPGRADE & EXPANSION PLANS

Due to more flights and greater estimates of passenger growth of the airport. Faisalabad international airport is expected to be re-developed to meet the to meet the growth patterns for the next decade.

The airport was inspected by Shujaat Azeem, Aviation Advisor to the Prime Minister as well as the Director General of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority on the 9th April 2015. It was disclosed that the airport will be upgraded to international standards of the IATA/ICAO. The plans are for the following:

* Extension of the current passenger terminal
* Construction of a new cargo complex
* Extension & upgrading of the current runway to handle larger aircraft
* Renovation of the aircraft stands (apron)
* Renovation of the arrivals/departure/business class lounges.
* Renovation of the airport approach road (including lighting)

Taxiway at FSBD airport

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[ghazi52]

New taxiway pavement underwork underway

Official renders of Faisalabad Airport provided by Pakistan CAA

 

[ghazi52]

FAISALABAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 3D RENDER ISSUED

The official 3D render of what Faisalabad International Airport will look like once the completion of the renovation has been completed.

* Two Boarding Bridges to handle B777 aircraft
* Two remote stands for additional parking
* Separate Domestic and International portions of the terminal
* New CIP Lounge (for domestic/intl/VVIP)

 

[ghazi52]

LATEST RENDER OF FAISALABAD AIRPORT TERMINAL

* Two glass boarding bridges to be constructed.
* Separate Arrival/Departure portions for international and domestic flights.

 

[ghazi52]

Operation has been successfully shifted to newly built International Departure Lounge Phase I

Faisalabad Airport Upgradation and Expansion project .

 

[STRANGER BIRD]

Faisalabad Airport expansion and upgradation underway boarding bridges to arrive soon

 

[mkiyani]

more info and pics plz keep us updated... i hope they quickly build FSB airport and equip it with new technology and make sure the employees including security people are given Good PR courses to make them friendly and polite..

and make runway bigger so that bigger planes can land also..

 

[ghazi52]

Faisalabad Int Airport expansion and upgrade work by CAA in final phases. Two Aerobridges are being installed for efficient embarkation/disembarkation and convenience of passengers

 

[Verve]

flew in and out many times in times gone ... nice to see modernisation after such a long time.

 

[STRANGER BIRD]

Faisalabad Airport terminal building upgrade in final phases

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

This need to be redone or expanded on modern lines in future

• Would have been better to develop an expanded Airport facility , size is too small for city airport

 

[Arsalan]

Much much needed development work!
Faisalabad was one of the worst airports in Pakistan (still is BTW). I hope these minor development works will improve the situation somewhat. Faisalabad can be a big market for airlines and it is a business city with people traveling multiple times a year to international destinations for business meetings and all. A couple of years back there were not real flights coming in either but then i think Saudi Airline started their operation from Fsd and it was such a huge success that now 5, 6 airlines are coming to Fsd. If the infrastructure can be improved, the airline numbers may also increase and the passengers traveling from Fsd will surely increase since no one loves traveling to Lahore to take an international flight every time,

@Rafael sahi kah raha hoon na bahi?
Isb mein bara zaleel hota ha bnda.

 

[Rafael]

Much much needed development work!
Faisalabad was one of the worst airports in Pakistan (still is BTW). I hope these minor development works will improve the situation somewhat. Faisalabad can be a big market for airlines and it is a business city with people traveling multiple times a year to international destinations for business meetings and all. A couple of years back there were not real flights coming in either but then i think Saudi Airline started their operation from Fsd and it was such a huge success that now 5, 6 airlines are coming to Fsd. If the infrastructure can be improved, the airline numbers may also increase and the passengers traveling from Fsd will surely increase since no one loves traveling to Lahore to take an international flight every time,

@Rafael sahi kah raha hoon na bahi?
Isb mein bara zaleel hota ha bnda.

True bhai. However, they must also improve their staff. Not trained enough to handle international flights or so is my experience with them.

 

[Arsalan]

True bhai. However, they must also improve their staff. Not trained enough to handle international flights or so is my experience with them.

That is the story on ALL of our airports for sure. Staff training is a must, together with strict policies against VVIP culture. However these alone wont help as the infrastructure is VERY important in this particular case. You need good airports and ground facilities to attract more airlines and only that will be good for business that will help the situation to improve further. The major problem with Fsd was a poor building and facilities as the staff was same everywhere anyway. However, i do agree that this particular aspect needs to be improved as well.

 

[wasileo80]

Its already a very profitable destination because all the western and central Punjab population is catered by Faisalabad Int. Airport. By the way the first airline who started their operations for Faisalabad were Fly Dubai and Air Arabia. later on Qatar Airways started flight operations for Faisalabad. Then Gulf came into scene. Now expansion is in full swing and near completion after this phase next step is to increase the runway and taxi way for bigger aircraft like 777. After Runway extension, Turkish, Saudia Airlines and Eithad will start flights from Faisalabad. Now Qatar operated all 7 days flight for Faisalabad. Same as Fly dubai operated daily for Faisalabad, Gulf Air operated for 5 days and so as Air Arabia. and All the current airlines operating for Faisalabad are getting huge business from this airport. PIA and Shaheen also operating flights for int. destinations specially for KSA from Faisalabad Int.

and Just recently in last fiscal year Faisalabad Int. Airport earned profit of more than 500 Million PKR. It is the great boost for an airport which was in loss and in next year it earned 500+ million PKR profit. And where there were only couple of domestic flights in a week and since last two years there are almost 100+ weekly International and domestic flights for Faisalabad going in and out. although the ratio between Int. Flights and domestic flights would be 8:1.