Karachi: Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore airports collectively managed 79% of Pakistan’s air passenger traffic in the fiscal year 2023-24, according to a report by Gallup Pakistan Digital Analytics. The report, which analyzed passenger movements across the country’s 17 civil airports, highlighted the overwhelming dominance of these three cities.

According to Gilani Research Foundation, Karachi accounted for 28.2% of the total passenger traffic, with Islamabad and Lahore closely following at 27.0% and 23.7%, respectively. This concentration of air traffic underscores the pivotal role these cities play in the nation’s aviation sector. In contrast, other airports, such as Multan, Peshawar, and Sialkot, handled significantly smaller shares, with Sialkot surprisingly surpassing Peshawar despite its smaller size, likely due to its export-driven economy and diaspora. The findings suggest that Pakistan’s air travel landscape is concentrated around three key hubs, leaving other cities with a much smaller share of the national air traffic.