| Gilgit Airport | |
| Iata: | GIL |
| Icao: | OPGT |
| Pushpin Map: | Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the airport in Pakistan |
| Pushpin Label: | GIL |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Type: | Public |
| City-Served: | Gilgit-15100, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan |
| Elevation-F: | 4,796 |
| Elevation-M: | 1,462 |
| Coordinates: | 35.9186°N 74.3336°W |
| Metric-Rwy: | y |
| R1-Number: | 07/25 |
| R1-Length-M: | 1,646 |
| R1-Length-F: | 5,400 |
| R1-Surface: | Asphalt |
| Stat-Year: | 2018–19[1] [2] |
| Stat1-Header: | Passengers |
| Stat1-Data: | 45,137 |
| Stat2-Header: | Passenger change |
| Stat2-Data: | 18.2% |
| Stat3-Header: | Aircraft movements |
| Stat3-Data: | 1,286 |
Gilgit Airport is a small domestic airport situated 1.25 nm (2.3 km) east of Gilgit,[3] a city in the Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan. The city of Gilgit is one of the two major hubs for mountaineering expeditions in the northern areas of Pakistan.
Because of the location of the runway and its location in the valley larger aircraft can not operate at the airpoirt. The airport has 5,400ft long Runway 7/25 but it is not aligned with the length of the valley that makes it hard for take offs or landings from boths sides. Very rarely aircraft land or take from the CAA park side of the runway. Pakistan International Airlines currently operates ATR 42 aircraft on the Gilgit-Islamabad route. In the past, Fokker F-27 Friendships were used. Other aircraft that operate at the airport include the military Lockheed C-130 Hercules. In the event of a diversion, aircraft typically return to Islamabad, so care must be taken to carry enough fuel for the round trip.
A new terminal was constructed in 2014 and inaugurated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.[4]
The airport was planned to be twice as extensive, but waterlogged ground led to half the land being instead used for a public park, CAA Park or City Park Gilgit.
Gilgit historically received aircraft before partition of Indian subcontinent. Even today almost the same route is used by the pilots to reach Gilgit airport. Weather condition and good visiblity is a must for Gilgit Islamabad flight operations. [5]
The airport was originally constructed in 1949, It was later upgraded in 1958 with pavement.
Due to the small size of the airport, smaller aircraft mostly turboprops like ATR-42 and C-130 are able to safely land and take off from this airport. Flights are scheduled mostly from Islamabad. However, in 2022, PIA started flights from Karachi and Lahore through a stopover at Islamabad.[6]
While not an official airline source, gilgitairport.com offers a platform for travelers to access potentially up-to-date information on flight status, gathered and verified locally.[9]