Pakistan’s airlines’ capacity to carry passengers, seen through the available seat in kilometres for both domestic and international travel, has been recorded as 101 million per population. The country has 29 operating airlines, and in the next two decades, air transport here is predicted to rise by 184%.^[171]

According to the National Aviation Policy 2019, the government intends to develop infrastructure which enables efficiency and sustainability in air transport. Moreover, the government has begun improving the PIA airline, opening five profitable international routes, and raising the national airline’s revenue by 30% from January to June 2019.^[172] PIA has also recorded a 46% growth in passenger revenue and an 11% increase in freight revenue.^[173] In 2021, a comprehensive restructuring plan has also been introduced to make the organisation financially viable and less dependent on government loans.^[174]

To promote tourism, Skardu Airport has been upgraded and opened for international flight operations since December 2021.^[175] The government has also upgraded different airports in Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Quetta, and Gwadar,^[176] as well as enabled British Airways to resume operations from Islamabad to the UK after more than a decade.^[177] The new airport of Gwadar, a project of CPEC, will also start its operation on 23 March 2023, allowing a positive step in boosting the tourism industry.^[178]

To become a world-class tourism destination, uplifting the aviation industry is a pressing need. Making the country and the places within easily accessible to tourists will lead to greater local and global connectivity, and therefore, a flourishing tourism sector.