Aviation History
Pakistan's national aviation history builds on Orient Airways, founded in Kolkata in 1946, which relocated operations to Pakistan after independence in 1947 and merged into the newly created Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIA) by 1955. Under Air Marshal Nur Khan's leadership in the 1960s, PIA became the second Asian airline, after Air India, to operate jet aircraft in 1960, and in 1964 became the first non-Communist airline to serve China, also helping China establish its own early civil aviation capacity. PIA built a reputation as one of the world's more profitable airlines by the late 1960s and later set a notable distance record with a 2005 nonstop Hong Kong-London flight, but it has faced sustained financial losses, safety and credentialing controversies, and government-led restructuring since the 2010s, culminating in a majority-stake privatization announced in late 2025.
Orient Airways, the direct predecessor of Pakistan International Airlines, was founded in Kolkata on October 29, 1946, by Mirza Ahmad Ispahani and Adamjee Haji Dawood.
After relocating operations to Pakistan following independence, Orient Airways completed its merger into the state-backed Pakistan International Airlines Corporation, which began international service to London.
In March 1960, PIA became the second Asian airline, after Air India, to induct and commercially operate a jet aircraft, the Boeing 707.
PIA launched a transatlantic route linking Karachi and New York, extending its long-haul network.
PIA became the first non-Communist carrier to serve China and assisted with early Chinese civil aviation development through aircraft leases and training.
During its 'golden age' under Air Marshal Nur Khan, PIA was ranked among the world's most profitable airlines.
In November 2005, PIA operated a Hong Kong-London flight lasting 22 hours 22 minutes, at the time the world's longest nonstop scheduled commercial passenger flight.
PIA faced a major pilot-licensing credentials scandal in 2020, compounding years of sustained financial losses that had begun around 2011 and required government subsidies.
In late 2025, the Arif Habib-led consortium acquired a majority stake in PIA as part of a long-planned government privatization of the airline.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) · Orient Airways (historical) · AirBlue · SereneAir · Fly Jinnah
General public/encyclopedic sources (Wikipedia, PIA corporate history); the 2025 privatization deal and recent financial/scandal details are time-sensitive and should be reverified for current status.
Aviation Firsts
Bacha Khan International Airport — Peshawar (1927): Formerly Peshawar Airport; 'traces its origins to 1927,' serving British Empire/Imperial Airways aircraft. Operating today (Pakistan Airports Authority); renamed 27 Jan 2012; reconstructed 2016-2018; Pakistan's 4th-busiest airport (FY2024-25: 1,161,063 passengers). Neither source makes an explicit 'oldest in Pakistan' claim — this is a date comparison I am reporting, not a sourced winner. · Wikipedia ↗
Jinnah International Airport — Karachi (1929): Formerly Drigh Road Airport. Imperial Airways among first carriers to fly to Karachi 30 March 1929 (the date Wikipedia's infobox uses as 'opened'); a 1928 map identifies an Imperial Airways site near RAF Drigh Road; J.R.D. Tata's inaugural Bombay-Karachi airmail flight landed there 15 October 1932; permanent terminal (now Terminal 1) opened 5 December 1938. · Wikipedia ↗
Per these sources' own dates, Peshawar (1927) predates Karachi (1929), but neither article makes an explicit 'oldest in Pakistan' claim — this is a date comparison made during research, flagged as such rather than presented as a sourced winner. A dedicated source for Pakistan's 'oldest airport' should be sought in a follow-up.
Pakistan International Airlines (1946): True-first predecessor Orient Airways registered in Calcutta 23 October 1946 (body text) / 29 October 1946 (infobox — the source gives two dates); founded by Mirza Ahmad Ispahani and Adamjee Haji Dawood at Muhammad Ali Jinnah's request; started operations 30 June 1947 (Calcutta-Sittwe-Rangoon); called 'the first and only Muslim-owned airline in the British Raj.' Interim merger into PIA 1 October 1953; formal merger 11 March 1955 under the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Ordinance, 1955 (Orient Airways then ceased to exist). PIA continues operating today with unbroken lineage. · PK ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
dnata (Gerry's dnata joint venture) (United Arab Emirates), 1993: The Gerry's dnata joint venture's own company history page states it "was formed in 1993 when Gerry's group and dnata came together," after dnata was selected by the Government of Pakistan to provide ground handling at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport. No earlier foreign GH entrant was found, and no source explicitly calls this "the first," so confidence remains tentative. (best-documented candidate found — not source-confirmed as literally first.) · Gerry's dnata ↗