Faisalabad International Airport

Faisalabad International Airport is an international airport and standby Pakistan Air Force military base situated on Jhang Road, southwest of the city centre of Faisalabad, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The airport is home to two flying schools who use the airfield for regular training for new cadets and aviation enthusiasts.

The airport serves the population of Faisalabad and several local cities such as Tandlianwala, Kamalia, Jaranwala, Jhang, Chiniot, Gojra, Dijkot, Samundri, Khurrianwala, Sangla Hill, Toba Tek Singh, Chenab Nagar, Sargodha, Bhawana, Pir Mahal, Chak Jhumra, Khichian, Jahangir Klan, and Lalian.

With a large diaspora of Faisalabadis living abroad, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has signed a new open policy to allow more airlines to operate from the city. The airport underwent a major transformation where the terminal building was completely remodelled to handle larger aircraft and passenger loads. The new terminal was opened in early 2018.

History

Early years

The airport traces its origins to the British Raj. The city government decided that Faisalabad had a strategic position within the South Asia and the British Empire. In 1942, the local government gave permission for the construction of a bricked strip measuring 5000' by 100'. Regional aircraft used the strip, and it played a role in the fighting and evacuation during the struggle for independence.

It was originally known as Lyallpur Airfield and had been known as such until 1979 when the city was renamed as Faisalabad, in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It was henceforth renamed to Faisalabad Airport; the International Air Transport Association code remained LYP.

After independence

The national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) began domestic operations in 1958 operating several flights from Karachi. The majority of the flights contained cargo for export. In 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 aircraft. During 1966–1967 construction began for a terminal and apron to handle propeller aircraft such as the Fokker F-27 Friendship.

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 jet fuelled aircraft such as the Boeing 737. In 1974 a jet apron, Taxiway-B, Air Traffic Control tower and Met office were constructed. A premium lounge and Instrument Landing System (ILS) were installed in 1985. In 1986 the terminal building was extended to accommodate greater number of passengers. 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, a business class CIP Lounge was constructed and the terminal building was extended. In 1998, direct Hajj operations were started from the airport to Saudi Arabia.

On 20 December 2003, Aero Asia International launched twice a week operations from LYP to Dubai and increased its Karachi flights to thrice a week. In 2005, PIA launched direct flights from the capital city of Scotland, Glasgow to LYP with Airbus A310 aircraft. The airline also launched e-ticketing from the airport in December of the same year. In December 2007, PIA operated its first Hajj flight from the city. In 2008, PIA began to operate flights from LYP to Sialkot International Airport, but this was soon axed. However, flights to Dubai were added. In 2009, PIA launched services from LYP to Rahim Yar Khan and Abu Dhabi. In 2010, PIA connected Bahawalpur to the city. In 2011, Shaheen Air was given approval to operate seasonal Hajj flights from Faisalabad to Jeddah. In the same year, Etihad Airways launched coach services for passengers based in Faisalabad to Lahore Airport. In 2012, Shaheen Air upgraded its Hajj flights to Boeing 767s. In June 2013, PIA ended its services to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Multan due to non-availability of aircraft. Shaheen Air decided to launch operations in October of the same year to Dubai. In 2014, Air Indus launched its services to Karachi using Boeing 737-300s.

Expansion plans

On 22 February 2015, Shujaat Azeem, aviation advisor to the Prime Minister, announced on his Twitter page that LYP would be upgraded to international standards and more international flights would soon be launched from the city. On 5 March 2015 Qatar Airways announced its thrice a week service linking Doha to Faisalabad. The service would be operated by Airbus A321/A320 aircraft. On 9 April 2015, the airport was inspected by Shujaat Azeem, Air Marshal (Retd) Muhammad Yousaf (Director General of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority), Engineer Rizwan Ashraf (President of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industries) and Rana Mohammad Afzal Khan (Member of Parliament, MNA). It was announced that the airport will be upgraded to meet international standards of the IATA/ICAO. It was disclosed by the PCAA that the airport will undergo the following work:

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

On 1 June 2015 Air Arabia announced that it will operate thrice a week service from Sharjah and Faisalabad from 18 September 2015. Faisalabad will become the eighth city to which Air Arabia operate in Pakistan. On 15 June 2015, Flydubai announced daily flights to Faisalabad from 10 July 2015 with an increase to nine a week from 3 August. On 11 July 2015, Gerry's dnata and Royal Airport Services set up their ground handling services from the airport. On 20 August 2015, Shaheen Air launched Hajj flights to Medina using Airbus A320."Pilgrimage: First Hajj flight leaves from Faisalabad today"
''Express Tribune'' On 7 October 2015, Gulf Air announced thrice a week flights from Bahrain to Faisalabad starting 22 December 2015. On 6 November 2015, Turkish Airlines surveyed the airport for operations in 2016 with the commitment to build a new business class lounge. On 2 December 2015, PIA announced once a week flights to Jeddah and Medina. The Jeddah flights will be operated using an Airbus A310 from 8 January 2016 whilst the Medina flights will be an Airbus A320 on 22 December 2015. On 24 December 2015, the foundation stone was laid to commence the renovation and expansion of the airport.

On 8 November 2016, PIA reinstated Islamabad and Multan as domestic operations and increased the Jeddah flights from two to thrice a week. On 6 April 2017, Shaheen Air announced its return to Faisalabad with initial flights to Karachi, Riyadh and Sharjah to begin in May with Jeddah and Madina to follow suit, SereneAir is all set to start three weekly flights from Faisalabad to Karachi and back starting from 20 April 2017. On 1 October 2017, an agreement was signed with the Adelte Group, a Barcelona-based organisation, to provide two glass boarding bridges for the new terminal. On 31 October 2017, Shaheen Air officially launched its inaugural flight from Faisalabad to Sharjah using Airbus A319. On 20 January 2018, the Prime Minister of Pakistan inaugurated the new expanded terminal. On 27 March 2018, Shaheen Air announced the city's first direct flights to Muscat, the capital of Oman with flights beginning on 15 April 2018. On 30 October 2019, PIA resumed its operations from the city to Dubai using Airbus A320, operating twice a week.

Structure

LYP is fitted with all the essentials for domestic and international flights. The information below is correct as of October 2015.

;Apron
*2 passenger glass boarding bridges installed by ADELTE.
*2 wide-body aircraft such as Airbus A300/A310/ Boeing 767-300ER.
*4 narrow body aircraft such as Airbus A320 and ATR 42/ATR 72 aircraft.
*Air field lighting System Category-I.
*Additional general aviation apron (SAFTS) for Cessna.

;Runway
*9,271 ft long ILS NDB equipped runway at an elevation of 607 feet with 25' shoulders on each side.
*Parallel runway for general aviation aircraft such as Cessna 162 and Cessna 172

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