AviatDataIslamabad International Airport ISB / OPIS
Islamabad · Pakistan · Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) — statutory corporation created under the Pakistan Airports Authority Act 2023 (National Assembly approval 21 Jul 2023), which took over airport operation/infrastructure from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) when the CAA was split into three bodies (PCAA as regulator, PAA as airports operator, Bureau of Air Safety Investigation/BASI for accident investigation) effective 9 Aug 2024
6.8Mpax · 2024-25
H24International · customs & immigrationJet A-1 · bonded
ICAO / IATAOPIS / ISB
OperatorPakistan Airports Authority (PAA) — statutory corporation created under the Pakistan Airports Authority Act 2023 (National Assembly approval 21 Jul 2023), which took over airport operation/infrastructure from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) when the CAA was split into three bodies (PCAA as regulator, PAA as airports operator, Bureau of Air Safety Investigation/BASI for accident investigation) effective 9 Aug 2024
Coordinates33.5491°N, 72.8257°E
Elevation1,762 ft · 537 m
Time zonePKT (UTC+5, no DST)
Passengers / yr6,804,439 (2024-25)
CustomsYes
Border controlYes
SchengenNo
FuelJet A-1
BondedYes
AIP referenceOPIS — AIP Pakistan (published by PCAA, the post-2024 regulatory successor body, not by PAA the airports operator), AD 2.OPIS
Operating hoursH24 — no published curfew found in sources checked (FIA's Jan 2026 three-shift immigration roster and round-the-clock PIA/international schedule are consistent with continuous ops); verify against current AIP Pakistan AD 2.OPIS for any formally published restriction
TerminalsSingle integrated terminal, approx. 180,000 sq m, 4 levels; 15 contact gates/boarding bridges (2 A380-capable) plus 15 remote passenger bays and 3 remote cargo bays (30 aircraft stands total); 7 check-in zones with 112 counters; 42 immigration counters as built (FIA ran a reduced 15-departure/13-arrival three-shift roster as of Jan 2026); design capacity 9 million passengers/year with a published modular expansion path to 25 million/year — FY2024-25 traffic of 6.8M is still within the initial 9M phase
Runways (2)
- 10R/28L · 3,658 m / 12,001 ft · 60 m wide · Asphalt · ILS ILS CAT IIIB on RWY 28L (operational since Dec 2020, LVPs down to RVR 100m/no DH); RWY 10R is also ILS-equipped (charted as ILS or LOC Y RWY 10R) but its category was not independently confirmed in sources checked this pass (informally reported as CAT I) - verify against current AIP Pakistan AD 2.OPIS
- 10L/28R · 3,658 m / 12,001 ft · 45 m wide · Asphalt · ILS ILS/LOC on RWY 28R (charted as ILS or LOC Z RWY 28R), category not independently confirmed (informally reported as CAT I); RWY 10L has no ILS - GPS/RNP approaches only
Airport contact
Opened 1 May 2018 (official inauguration; commercial flights began 3 May 2018), replacing the old city-centre Chaklala airport (formerly branded Benazir Bhutto International, IATA ISB) - that field is now PAF Base Nur Khan, a Pakistan Air Force base with no active civil IATA code (RIW belongs to an unrelated US airport, Riverton WY; it continues to host PAF operations, VIP/dignitary flights and some general aviation). In FY2024-25 (Jul-Jun) Islamabad overtook Karachi's Jinnah International to become Pakistan's busiest airport by total passengers, handling 6.80M pax (+10.2% y/y). Primary hub for Pakistan International Airlines and an operating base for SereneAir. Runway 28L carries the airport's CAT IIIB ILS for winter/fog operations on this corridor - this is NOT nationally unique as sometimes claimed: Lahore's Allama Iqbal International also reports CAT IIIB on RWY 36R, so do not describe ISB's capability as the country's only one without AIP confirmation.
Services
Available
On request / PPR
Seasonal / ageing
Unconfirmed / not listed
Ground handling
Available · 2 providers
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)
Pakistan's flag carrier and largest ground handling provider; self-handles PIA's own flights at Islamabad International Airport and provides third-party passenger/ramp/baggage handling for other carriers under Manager Handling Agreements (contact •••), per PIA's Ground Handling business-unit materials. PIA's own site returned a bot-protection block on re-check, so the exact contact routing could not be.
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Menzies Aviation (Menzies-RAS / Royal Airport Services)
Passenger, ramp, baggage and charter handling at Islamabad International Airport for airblue, AirSial and Fly Jinnah under Menzies-RAS contracts, part of an 8-airport Pakistan network (confirmed via menzies-ras.com.pk: 8 airports, 90,000+ tonnes/yr cargo, 20,000+ flights/yr, airblue/AirSial/Fly Jinnah shown as clients) also serving British Airways, Qatar Airways, Oman Air, flydubai, Air Arabia, SalamAir and FlyNas; per Menzies-RAS's own site. The site does not enumerate which of the 8 airports by name, so ISB inclusion rests on Islamabad being one of Pakistan's busiest airports rather than an explicit station list.
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Aircraft fuel
Available · 2 providers
Pakistan State Oil (PSO)
Into-plane Jet A-1 fuelling at Islamabad International Airport via a joint-venture fuel farm and hydrant system built with Attock Petroleum Ltd at New Islamabad International Airport (a 12km, 14-inch hydrant line with 55 hydrant pits, established May 2017, per Attock Petroleum's own aviation-fuels page, which names PSO as its JV partner there). PSO holds the leading share of Pakistan's Jet A-1 market and supplies most of the country's major airports.
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Attock Petroleum Limited (APL)
Co-developer and joint-venture partner with PSO on the aviation fuel farm and hydrant system at New Islamabad International Airport -- a 12km, 14-inch hydrant line with 55 hydrant pits -- established May 2017; per Attock Petroleum's own aviation-fuels page, directly confirmed.
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
De-icing
Not listed
Part-145 line maintenance
Unconfirmed
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)
Press coverage (Dawn, ProPakistani) describes a PIA 'Nur Khan Engineering Complex' hangar performing routine maintenance/repairs on PIA aircraft, said to end the prior need to ferry northern-region aircraft to Karachi for routine work. Flagged unconfirmed rather than available: 'Nur Khan' is also the name of Islamabad's old, now-closed city airport site (Chaklala), today PAF Base Nur Khan, roughly 25km from the current New Islamabad International Airport at Fateh Jang -- so whether this hangar is actually located at the ISB terminal complex, rather than the old Nur Khan site, could not be confirmed.
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Part-145 base maintenance
Not listed
Component shops & overhaul
Not listed
Flight catering
Available · 2 providers
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)
In-house PIA Flight Kitchen network (its largest kitchen prepares roughly 13,000 of PIA's ~20,000 daily meals) supplies Islamabad-departing flights; PIA has also tendered separately for a third-party in-flight caterer for the ISB station (71,000 meals/week across 89 weekly flights).
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
KC Flight Catering
Confirmed directly via kcflightcatering.com: KC Flight Catering lists Islamabad among the 6 Pakistani airports it currently serves (with Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Karachi), operating in-flight catering since 2006 as Pakistan's largest private in-flight caterer (ISO 22000:2005 certified).
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Aircraft cleaning
Unconfirmed
Menzies Aviation (Menzies-RAS / Royal Airport Services)
"Cabin Presentation" is listed among Menzies-RAS's Pakistan-wide ground handling services on menzies-ras.com.pk; not separately confirmed as an Islamabad-specific line item.
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Ground support equipment
Not listed
Cargo handling
Available · 3 providers
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)
PIA Cargo, the freight division of Pakistan International Airlines, uplifts and handles freight on PIA's scheduled Islamabad International Airport network. An earlier draft's claim that PIA Cargo is 'headquartered in Islamabad (Blue Area)' could not be confirmed and has been dropped -- PIA's corporate head office is in Karachi.
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Menzies Aviation (Menzies-RAS / Royal Airport Services)
Freighter, general and special cargo handling for airblue, AirSial and Fly Jinnah at Islamabad, part of Menzies-RAS's Pakistan cargo operation handling 90,000+ tonnes/year; per menzies-ras.com.pk (station-level breakdown not published).
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Union Cargo (Pvt) Ltd (UCL Pakistan)
Confirmed directly via uclpakistan.com: UCL Pakistan lists Islamabad among its operating locations (with Karachi, Sialkot, Lahore, Faisalabad and Gwadar) and states it runs 4 air cargo-handling facilities in Pakistan; the site does not itemise which of its listed cities hold a dedicated cargo facility versus another service line, so the Islamabad facility count is not separately itemised.
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Aviation security
Available
Airports Security Force (ASF)
Federal force (Ministry of Defence) statutorily responsible for aviation security screening and airport/aircraft guarding at all Pakistani civil airports under the Airport Security Force Act; named specifically for Islamabad International Airport on the airport's own Security and Customs page, alongside the Anti-Narcotics Force and Pakistan Customs. ASF's own site (asf.gov.pk) returned a bot-protection block on re-check.
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Passenger & crew transport
Not listed
Flight support
On request
Aeroworld Flight Support (Pvt) Ltd
Pakistan-registered trip-support/handling agent (HQ at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi; contact details confirmed directly via aeroworld.pk) listing New Islamabad International Airport (ISB/OPIS) as a serviced airport on its Flock Aviation Services Marketplace and FlightBridge airport-directory listings -- offering landing/overflight permits, flight-plan filing, weather/NOTAM briefings, dispatch documents and Jet A-1 fuel coordination there. Aeroworld's own homepage names only its Karachi/UAE/Libya offices and does not itself list ISB, so ISB coverage rests on the third-party marketplace listings rather than the company's own site. · 24/7
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Verified 3 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Hotel & travel
Not listed