Travelling by Air, Pakistan

By Air:
Flying time to Karachi from: New York 17+ hours; Tokyo 10+ hours; Hong Kong 5+ hours; London 8 hours; Jeddah 4 hours; Abu Dhabi 2 hours. There are many flights into Karachi on a variety of international airlines. Pakistan International Airlines fly to Pakistan from a number of major capitals and operate a domestic network. Only PIA and British Airways have direct flights from London to Islamabad, though the journey involves changing planes.
By Sea:
There are some sailings around the Gulf area to Karachi. More information on this adventurous route to Pakistan will be available on this page as it becomes available.

By Rail:
Rail routes exist through India and Iran. More information on this way of entry will be available later on. Please check back for more up-to-date info.

By Road:
The most popular route to enter Pakistan via road is Karakoram Highway. This is open between May and November from 11 AM to 4 PM.....Domestic Travel.By Air:
Flying within Pakistan is a quick way of getting around the country, and often very cheap. Shorter journeys are subsidized by the government, so a flight to Gilgit or Skardu is not that much more expansive than taking the bus. Pakistan International Airways has many routes within Pakistan. More information is to follow.
By Water:
More info to come.

By Rail:
The railways are a convenient mode of transportation within Pakistan, because they serve all major towns and sites of interest. Many of the railways are feats of engineering, rising through hilly, difficult terrain and crossing mighty rivers and long bridges.
Steam engines are very common. There are various classes of berth available: Air Conditioned, First and Second. The trains can get very crowded, so it is best to make reservations several days in advance. Passengers on First class provide their own bedding. A sleeper has to be booked separately from the First Class ticket. Don't forget to indulge in the 'afternoon tea' service, which is excellent. Pakistan Railways offers concessionary fares to various types of travelers, including students, groups on study tours, tourists, sports groups, youth organizations, etc.
By Road:
Rikshaw - two passanger vehicle
The provincial governments have Road Transport Corporations, which run the regular services between the major cities. The buses start from G.T.S Depots. Some services are more frequent than others, depending on the volume of traffic along the route. Generally, these buses are fast, regular and reliable.
Apart from official service, there are number of private services, some of which are grim and other like the 'flying coaches' are excellent. These are small Air Conditioned coaches. The flying coaches do move speedily.
There are now thousands of Ford Transit vans operating in the cities and plying in between. These can seat up to fourteen people and serve as a poor man's flying coach.



Airlines...
Aero Asia International...
Bhoja Airlines....
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)..
Panjnad Aviation.....
Schoen Air....
Shaheen International....

Many of Pakistan's airports are international airports including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Faisalabad and Sialkot.
This is the best part. Getting around is easy and cheap. But it may prove to be hectic on the other hand. You have the options of buses, wagons, taxis, and lil' three wheelers called rickshaws.
For travelling inter-city there are airplanes,trains and buses readily available.

Air: Most major airlines serve Karachi, while PIA has service from Europe to Lahore or Islamabad. Regionally, you can get to and from the Gulf from Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Islamabad. Due to the long-standing enmity between Pakistan and India, there are very few air services between the two countries. There's also at least one new, privately-owned airline that flies domestic routes as well as in and out of the Gulf. The name escapes me at the moment, though I think it's Air Asia. At present, there is talk of establishing a ferry link between Karachi and Muscat and/or Sharjah (UAE), but nothing has been finalized yet.
Like India, Pakistan offers visitors a veritable smorgasbord of public transport possibilities: horse-drawn tongas, taxis, motorized three-wheelers, rattle-trap buses, luxury tourist buses, trucks, trains, and planes. Trains are slowish, but reasonably comfortable in first class, while the buses are certainly faster, but a whole lot more dangerous due to the rather inventive driving habits of Pakistanis. If you're hitchhiking, you'll likely as not be picked up by a truck. If this happens, and you have the choice, ride on top because it's much more comfortable. This advice also holds for older buses. Some flying tips: If you're carrying anything that uses a battery (other than a watch), remove ALL batteries before going through airport security. This is a requirement of everyone. Moreover, all hand baggage must be tagged (Your airline will provide you with them.). Finally, PIA offers a Night First Class fare between major cities that is the same as the normal economy fare. Cheap comfort, that!

Most people fly in, though overland entrance from Iran and India is possible. Theoretically, one could also enter Pakistan from Afghanistan; given current political realities, this route is hardly advisable.

PIA, Pakistan's principal carrier, has a somewhat checkered reputation, though the times I've flown it I've been well-pleased.

Airport Security:
Warning: Pakistan has some peculiar ideas about batteries. When checking in on a flight from Pakistan, make sure you have removed all batteries from CD players, cameras, recorders, or whatever, and pack them in your checked bags. If you haven't done this in advance, you'll have to do so at security -- and they'll probably confiscate them. You may be able to buy some AAs in Duty Free -- if you really need them -- but there's no guarantee.

Be ready to tag all of your carry-on items at check-in. You will be given little PIA tags, which must have your name written on them. This must be done before you reach security, because each one must be stamped by the security officer to prove that each item has been examined. This even applies to transit (!) passengers!

Photo: Karachi's new Qaid-e-Azam International Airport; the name is the Urdu title for Mohammed Ali Jinnah, founder of the modern state of Pakistan. (See travelogue for more detail)

4 more images

I flew PIA Manchester to Islamabad

Great service you can go in the escape lounge , the seats are very big and the food great

The Co Pilot Hussien, we become good friend later.

... but I was only allow to stay in his house for only 2 days for his eldest son's marridge. The reason was I in vacation to Beijing for 8 days and must rush back to Beijing then Japan on time.