The Pakistani government has given Fly Jinnah (9P, Karachi International) its consent to commence scheduled international flights. Pakistani media report that a federal cabinet meeting last week approved the application after it secured the support of Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and the prime minister's office.
In August, the Air Arabia-backed airline applied for the rights to operate flights to Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Except for Azerbaijan, existing air service agreements between Pakistan and each country allow for multiple operators on the relevant country pairs.
While FlyJinnah has yet to disclose which market it intends to fly to first, except for Bangladesh, all the country pairs have at least one passenger operator already servicing them and, in some cases, multiple operators. According to ch-aviation schedules data, Kam Air is the sole scheduled operator on the Pakistan - Afghanistan country pair; AZALJET and PIA - Pakistan International Airlines operate on the Pakistan - Azerbaijan country pair; no scheduled passenger operator currently services the Pakistan - Bangladesh country pair; Iraqi Airways and Fly Baghdad currently operate on the Pakistan - Iraq country pair; PIA and Batik Air Malaysia work on the Pakistan - Malaysia country pair; PIA, Oman Air, and SalamAir currently operate on the Pakistan - Oman country pair; PIA and Qatar Airways operate on the Pakistan - Qatar country pair; PIA, Saudia, flynas, AirBlue, and Serene Air operate on the Pakistan - Sauda Arabia country pair; Thai Airways International flies on the Pakistan - Thailand country pair; PIA, Turkish Airlines, and Pegasus Airlines operate on the Pakistan - Türkiye country pair; and PIA, AirBlue, Serene Air, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, Air Arabia, flydubai, Emirates, and Etihad Airways operate on the busy Pakistan - UAE country pair.
Presently, Fly Jinnah operates three leased A320-200s to five cities in Pakistan. The carrier only secured its operating permit in 2021 and started flying in late 2022. Pakistani aviation regulations require local airlines to satisfactorily operate on domestic routes for at least 12 months before they can secure permission to fly internationally.
