Benazir Bhutto International Airport (Urdu: بینظیر بھٹّو بین الاقوامی ہوائی اڈہ, IATA: ISB, ICAO: OPRN) is the third-largest airport in Pakistan, serving the capital Islamabad and its twin city Rawalpindi in the province of Punjab. Previously known as the Islamabad International Airport, it was renamed after the late Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yusuf Raza Gillani on 21 June 2008.
The airport is actually located outside of Islamabad, in the area of Chaklala, Rawalpindi. Being the main airport for the Pakistani capital it often hosts officials and citizens from other nations. The airfield is shared with the transport and liaison squadrons of the Pakistan Air Force, which refers to it as PAF Base Chaklala.
Due to the ever-growing need for better facilities and services available for passengers, The Government of Pakistan is constructing a new airport in Islamabad. The new green field facility, the first in the nation, will be the biggest in Pakistan. The new location of the Islamabad International Airport has been selected at Fateh Jang, less than 20 km from Islamabad city centre (Blue Area), as measured from Zero Point. The construction of the new airport is underway and completion is estimated to be in 2013. In fiscal year 2008-2009, over 3,136,664 million passengers used Benazir Bhutto International Airport and 34,025 aircraft movements were registered. The airport serves as a hub for the flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines. It is also the hub of Shaheen Air International and a focus city of airblue.
Read more about Benazir Bhutto International Airport: Structure, Criticism, Airlines and Destinations, Accidents and Incidents
Famous quotes containing the words benazir bhutto, bhutto and/or airport:
“I’m not into smoke-filled rooms. I don’t have the time for byzantine political intrigues.”
—Benazir Bhutto (b. 1953)
“The people who resent me do so because I’m a woman, I’m young, and I’m a Bhutto. Well, the simple answer is, it doesn’t matter that I’m a woman, it doesn’t matter that I’m young, and it’s a matter of pride that I’m a Bhutto.”
—Benazir Bhutto (b. 1953)
“It was like taking a beloved person to the airport and returning to an empty house. I miss the people. I miss the world.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)