ISLAMABAD – The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued TPRI (Tourism Promotion and Regional Integration) license to a newly launched private airline, North Air, amid country-level efforts to boost tourism.
The private carrier is planned to operate flights for Gilgit, Skardu, Chitral and Gwadar from different cities of Pakistan.
Initially, the airline will operate flights between Islamabad-Gilgit, Islamabad-Skardu, Islamabad-Chitral and Islamabad-Gwadar.
Back in March, it had emerged that rhree new air operators are in the final stages of certification by Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and once that’s done, they will start operations in the regional airline’s space.
According to the sources, the scrutiny of two airlines, Q-Airlines and Fly Jinnah, has been completed while the third airline Jet Green Airlines is still going through the inspection process.
The applications will be sent to Aviation Division and later to the federal cabinet for final approvals.
With the addition of three new airlines, the number of private carriers operating will increase to six. Airblue, SereneAir, and AirSial are the three existing airlines operating in the country of approximately 217 Million whereas Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is still the largest and oldest carrier in the country.
According to the aviation law, the new airlines must operate domestic flights for at least one year before launching international flight operations.
With the launch of three new airlines, a good number of jobs are supposed to be created as the aviation industry is still facing the worst financial crisis since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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