Summary South Air is led by chief executive Nishat Fatima, whom the airline describes as the first woman in Pakistan to head an airline.
KARACHI (Web Desk) - South Air, a new Pakistani regional carrier, commenced scheduled flight operations on Thursday, launching a Karachi-Quetta service via Turbat and a Bahawalpur-Islamabad flight that restored scheduled service to an airport that has had none since Pakistan International Airlines cut its flights ahead of privatization, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said.
The airline's flight from Karachi's Jinnah International Airport continued from Turbat to Quetta, where it received a traditional water cannon salute at a ceremony attended by Balochistan Governor Sheikh Jaffar Khan Mandokhail, the authority said, sharing a video of the arrival on X.
"South Air flights mark a major expansion of Jinnah International Airport’s domestic network," the PAA said. "South Air will operate one weekly flight on the Turbat route and three weekly flights on the Bahawalpur route."
Pakistan's smaller cities have steadily lost air connectivity as carriers focus on the profitable Karachi-Lahore-Islamabad corridor.
Bahawalpur Airport was reported non-operational by late 2023 after PIA withdrew, while Turbat, the commercial hub of Balochistan's Makran region, has retained only limited PIA service, and road travel through the province carries significant security risks.
The new airline operates under the Tourism Promotion and Regional Integration (TPRI) License, a category introduced under Pakistan's aviation policy to encourage private carriers to serve regional markets neglected by existing airlines.
Pakistani media reported in May that South Air had received its first ATR 72-500, a turboprop aircraft suited to smaller airports, ahead of test flights to Gwadar and Quetta later that month.
South Air is led by chief executive Nishat Fatima, whom the airline describes as the first woman in Pakistan to head an airline.
