South Air starts direct Lahore-Peshawar flights
Four flights a week at first, with a flying time of 50 minutes to an hour, the airline says; a meeting in Islamabad also looked at routes to Gilgit, Skardu and Chilas.
South Air began direct flights between Lahore and Peshawar on Monday, cutting a road journey of several hours between the two cities to about 50 minutes to an hour in the air.
The airline said it will operate four flights a week on the route at first. The first departure was scheduled for about 1:10pm on Monday.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi announced the service for 9 November, Iqbal Day. The provincial information department posted a video on X saying the Peshawar-Lahore link was being restored after the success of a Peshawar-Quetta service.
Kundi said the direct flights would particularly help residents of Peshawar, for whom the long overland trip to Lahore now becomes a flight of about an hour. Express News reported that he also said work was under way on the possibility of air services to Dera Ismail Khan, Dir, Chitral and Parachinar.
South Air is a domestic carrier that has been adding routes to link smaller districts to the national network. According to the route map on its website, it flies from Islamabad to Sukkur, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan, and from Karachi to Bahawalpur, Panjgur, Sukkur, Turbat, Rahim Yar Khan and Gwadar. Sukkur is linked to Karachi, Islamabad and Quetta, and Bahawalpur to Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. Lahore had flights to Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan and now also to Peshawar.
A meeting chaired by Kundi at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad on Monday, attended by Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Amjad Hussain and South Air's management, discussed air links, tourism, trade and investment, according to the provincial information department. The meeting also reviewed the prospects of starting air operations to Gilgit, Skardu and Chilas.
How the reports differ
Aaj News led with the airline's launch, giving the flying time, the four weekly frequencies and the first departure time, and it alone reported the Islamabad meeting at which routes to Gilgit, Skardu and Chilas were discussed. Express News led with Governor Faisal Karim Kundi's announcement and carried his remarks that services to Dera Ismail Khan, Dir, Chitral and Parachinar are also being explored. Both reports gave the same four weekly flights and the same 50-minute to one-hour duration.
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