Benazir Bhutto International Airport

Benazir Bhutto International Airport


بینظیر بھٹو بین الاقوامی ہوائی اڈے
View of the tarmac in 2011
Summary
Airport typeDefunct
OwnerPakistan
OperatorPakistan Civil Aviation Authority
ServesIslamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area
LocationChaklala, Rawalpindi-46210
Opened1930 (1930) (as RAF Chaklala)
Closed3 May 2018 (2018-05-03)
Elevation AMSL508 m / 1,667 ft
Coordinates33°36′59″N 073°05′57″E / 33.61639°N 73.09917°E / 33.61639; 73.09917
Map
OPRN is located in Pakistan
OPRN
OPRN
Location in Pakistan
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
12/30 3,292 10,801 Asphalt

Benazir Bhutto International Airport (Urdu: بینظیر بھٹو بین الاقوامی ہوائی اڈے, ICAO: OPRN) is an airport which formerly served the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area. It was the second-largest airport by air traffic in Pakistan, until 12 May 2021 when it was replaced by the new Islamabad International Airport. Also known as Chaklala Airbase, it was renamed after the late Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto (1953–2007) in June 2008.[1] The airport handled 4,767,860 passengers in 2015–16,[2] compared to 3,610,566 in 2010–11.[3]

The airport was located in the area of Chaklala in Rawalpindi, which neighbours Islamabad. Following the establishment of the new Islamabad International Airport, the airport is no longer used for civil aviation and now forms a part of the adjoining PAF Base Nur Khan (also known as PAF Base Chaklala).

  1. ^ "PM names Islamabad Airport as Benazir Bhutto International Airport – GEO.tv". Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Major traffic flows by airports during the year (provisional data)" (PDF). Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. July 2015 – June 2016.
  3. ^ "Major traffic flows by airports during the year (provisional data)" (PDF). Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. July 2010 – June 2011.