Begum Nusrat Bhutto International Airport Sukkur | |
Ensign: | Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) Logo.png |
Iata: | SKZ |
Icao: | OPSK |
Mapframe: | yes |
Type: | Military/Public |
Owner: | Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority |
Operator: | Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority |
City-Served: | Sukkur, Sibi, Jacobabad, Khairpur, Ghotki |
Location: | Sukkur-65200 |
Elevation-F: | 196 |
Elevation-M: | 60 |
Pushpin Map: | Sindh#Pakistan |
Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
Pushpin Label: | SKZ |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of airport in Pakistan |
R1-Number: | 14/32 |
R1-Length-F: | 9,000 |
R1-Length-M: | 2,743 |
R1-Surface: | Bitumen |
Stat-Year: | 2017-18 |
Stat1-Header: | Passengers |
Stat1-Data: | 114,081 |
Stat2-Header: | Passenger change |
Stat2-Data: | 6.5% |
Stat3-Header: | Aircraft movements |
Stat3-Data: | 2,461 |
The Sukkur Airport, also known as Begum Nusrat Bhutto International Airport Sukkur, is a domestic airport located in Sukkur, Sindh, Pakistan. It is a medium-sized airport located about from the centre of Sukkur, and serves Sukkur and its surrounding areas; Khairpur, Jacobabad, Sibi, and Shikarpur.[1]
Sukkur International Airport is the second main operational airport in Sindh, after Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.[2] The paved runway is about 2,700 metres long. It also handles international flights, especially in time of emergencies and because of bad weather conditions.[3]
It is the main alternative to Karachi's Jinnah International Airport, with a distance of about, well under an hour's flight time by turboprop aircraft, and less than 35 minutes by jet.
It was built in 1942 and was originally known as Sukkur Aerodrome, and was used as a military airfield by the British Raj. The airport was renamed as Sukkur Airport in 1980. On 26 January 2012, the Provincial Assembly of Sindh unanimously passed a resolution to name the airport after Nusrat Bhutto (), a former first lady of Pakistan in the 1970s.[4]
During Hajj season every year, Hajj flights operate from Sukkur to Jeddah and Medina in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and back.[5] The first Hajj flight from the Begum Nusrat Bhutto Airport, Sukkur, left for Jeddah on 6 August 2016. The Hajj flight operation continued until 13 August 2016.[6]
In September 2022, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority assigned the upgrade and expansion project of the Begum Nusrat Bhutto Airport Sukkur to the National Engineering Services Pakistan.[7] According to the plan, the airport is planned to be turned into an international airport for wide-body aircraft with all allied facilities. The renovation project includes extension of the runway and the taxiway, reconstruction of the apron and terminal building, along with other related facilities.[8] [9] [10] [11]
In September 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) accelerated the process of granting international status to Begum Nusrat Bhutto Airport (BNBA) in Sukkur.
After getting international status, it will be the second international airport in Sindh.