‘Gwadar-Karachi-Gwadar: exorbitant airfares’

This is apropos to a letter to the Editor titled above from this writer carried by the newspaper on Saturday, Monday and yesterday.

We are not seeking a favour or appealing for charity. Affordable air travel is our basic right, especially in a city being developed under international investment. Therefore, we demand the following:

1. Remove international/foreign fare structure from the Gwadar–Karachi local route in the reservation system.

2. Fix the normal fare between Gwadar-Karachi-Gwadar in line with other domestic routes.

3. Provide government subsidies or incentives to local residents of Gwadar for air travel, especially considering the hardships they face and sacrifices made for national development.

4. Ensure increased flight frequency and larger aircraft, not just ATRs, to support local mobility.

CPEC cannot truly benefit the people unless its projects, including the Gwadar International Airport, begin to serve the residents of Gwadar. The current airfare structure is not only economically discriminatory but socially unjust.

We urge the Government of Pakistan, Civil Aviation Authority, and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to take immediate corrective action.

Jalil Baloch (Gwadar)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025