Pakistani Court directs to restore flights at Mohenjo Daro Airport suspended since 2018
The Larkana circuit bench of the Sindh High
Court (SHC) has directed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to immediately
implement its previous March 9, 2022 order, mandating the restoration of
flights to and from Mohenjo Daro Airport. The court also instructed the CAA to
submit a compliance report.
The directive was issued by a constitutional
bench comprising Justices Mohammad Saleem Jessar and Adnan-ul-Karim Memon,
during a hearing on three identical petitions filed between 2017 and 2019.
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Petitioners Demand Resumption
of PIA Flights
The petitions, filed by Advocate Sajjid
Hussain Mahesar (CP No.D-922, 2017), Advocate Imdad Ali Mashori (CP No.D-959,
2017), and Advocate Rafique Ahmed Abro (CP No.146, 2019), urged the court to
order the resumption of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights at Mohenjo
Daro Airport.
Advocate Mahesar noted that despite PIA’s
commitment to restore full services, flights were suspended on November 22,
2018, and have not been reinstated since.
Court Seeks
Federal Government's Explanation
The bench emphasized that the federal
government (aviation division) must clarify why compensation for the suspended
routes has not been determined and submit a detailed report.
Furthermore, the CAA’s Director General was
ordered to conduct a comprehensive inquiry to assess:
- The designation of Mohenjo Daro Airport
as a secondary route
- The service commitments of designated
airlines
- The CAA’s role in ensuring compliance
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Private Airlines
and PIA Operations
The petitioners argued that Mohenjo
Daro Airport has long suffered from irregular and unreliable flights, even
after prior court rulings. They claimed private airlines were prevented from
operating at the airport despite demand.
They requested the court to mandate two
daily PIA flights between Larkana and Karachi and authorize private airlines to
operate on the Mohenjo Daro-Larkana route, including the restoration of the old
Sukkur via Menara Airport route.
CAA and PIA
Response
Advocate Balosch A. Junejo,
representing the CAA and Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA), explained the
restructuring of the CAA into three separate entities:
- Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority
(Regulator)
- Pakistan Airports Authority (Airport
Operations & Air Navigation)
- Air Accident Investigation Body
He confirmed that Mohenjo Daro Airport meets
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards and is capable of
handling Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft under weight restrictions. He also
highlighted the airport’s history of over 50 years of PIA operations,
underscoring its regional importance.
Meanwhile, Advocate Irfan Ali Soomro,
representing PIA, assured the court that internal discussions were underway and
pledged to restart flights to northern cities within a week.
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Court Orders
Immediate Implementation
After reviewing the CAA report, which revealed
that private airlines were not operating the required socio-economic routes and
the authority admitted enforcement failures, the court ordered the immediate
implementation of flight restoration.
Mohenjo Daro
Airport’s Legacy and Importance
Established in 1967, Mohenjo Daro Airport was
once the third busiest in Sindh, handling:
- Five weekly PIA passenger flights
- Two charter flights
- Various non-scheduled and VIP/VVIP
flights
However, its operations were suspended without
justification, causing inconvenience to the public in Larkana.
Next Steps
The SHC directed the Director General
of CAA to submit a detailed report within a month, assessing designated
airlines, their actual service performance, and CAA’s compliance obligations.
Officials from PIA and CAA are
required to attend the next hearing on April 9, 2025.
Source: Dawn