On the 9th of May 2024, at 0525 hours, a fire broke out in a section of the international departure lounge at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal international airport, causing disruptions to flight operations. However, by the grace of Allah, all the staff and passengers were safely evacuated in timely manner. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) immediately initiated the efforts for the restoration of systems.
Three flights for Hajj departures were manually managed by immigration staff to ensure the smooth operation, along with five international arrivals. In order to guarantee the efficient facilitation of Hajj operations, three flights for Hajj departures were manually managed by immigration staff, in addition to five international arrivals. Concurrently, domestic flight operations resumed, and efforts to recover the Integrated Border Management System (IBMS) were carried out with utmost urgency. The Minister of Aviation personally visited the airport to assess the progress of the recovery work and emphasized the priority of restoring the IBMS system. At 2200 hours on the same day, international flight operations resumed at AIIAP Lahore, along with all the necessary facilities. The relevant workforce from the CAA and other agencies remained present at the scene to efficiently handle the backlog of passengers and ensure a seamless experience.
Editor: Kamran Raja