View source for Gilgit Airport

{{redirect|OPGT|Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee|Substitute Decisions Act#Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee{{!}}Substitute Decisions Act § Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee}}
{{Infobox airport
| name                      = Gilgit Airport
| ensign                    = File:Pakistan Airports Authority logo.png
| ensign_size               = 100px
| ensign_alt                = 
| nativename                = {{lang|ur|{{Nastaliq|گلگت ہوائی اڈا}}}}
| nativename-a              = 
| nativename-r              =
| image                     = [[File:Gilgit 1.jpg|250px]]
| image_size                = <!-- if less than 220 -->
| image_alt                 = 
| caption                   = Gilgit Airport in 2015.
| IATA                      = GIL
| ICAO                      = OPGT
| type                      = [[Airport|Public]]
| owner-oper                = 
| owner                     = {{coat of arms|Pakistan|text=[[Aviation Division (Pakistan)|GoP Aviation Division]]}}
| operator                  = [[Pakistan Airports Authority]]
| city-served               = [[Gilgit]]-15100
| location                  = [[Gilgit District]], [[Gilgit Division]], [[Gilgit Baltistan]], Pakistan
| opened                    = <!-- {{start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| hub                       = <!-- If more than one airline, use {{Unbulleted list|Airline1|Airline2}} -->
| built                     = <!-- military airports -->
| used                      = <!-- military airports -->
| occupants                 = <!-- military airports -->
| timezone                  = 
| utc                       = 
| summer                    = 
| utcs                      = 
| elevation-f               = 4796
| elevation-m               = 1462
| coordinates               = {{Coord|35|55|07|N|74|20|01|E|type:airport|display=inline,title}}
| website                   = {{URL|https://paa.gov.pk/}}
| pushpin_map               = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan#South Asia
| pushpin_mapsize           = 
| pushpin_map_alt           = 
| pushpin_map_caption       = Location of airport in Pakistan
| pushpin_relief            = 
| pushpin_image             = 
| pushpin_label             = OPGT
| pushpin_label_position    = 
| pushpin_mark              = 
| pushpin_marksize          = 
| r1-number                 = 07/25
| r1-length-f               = 5400
| r1-length-m               = 1646
| r1-surface                = [[Bitumen]]
| metric-rwy                = 
| h1-number                 = 
| h1-length-f               = 
| h1-length-m               = 
| h1-surface                = <!-- up to h12 -->
| stat-year = 2023-24 <ref>{{Cite web |title=MAJOR TRAFFIC FLOWS BY AIRPORTS DURING THE YEAR 2023-24 |url=https://pcaawebadmin.pcaa.gov.pk/media/ykumyn4k/major-traffic-flow-airports-2023-24.pdf |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=[[Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority]] Official website}}</ref>
| stat1-header = Passengers
| stat1-data = 35,550
|stat2-header = Passenger change 
|stat2-data = {{decrease}}13.09%
| stat3-header = Aircraft movements
| stat3-data =  1,054
| footnotes                 = Sources: PAA [[Aeronautical Information Publication|AIP]]<ref name="aip">{{Cite web |title=eAIP-Aerodomes-Gilgit |url=https://paawebadmin.paa.gov.pk/media/eaip/02-25/eAIP/index.htm |website=[[Pakistan Airports Authority]] Website}}</ref>
}}

'''Gilgit Airport''' {{Airport codes|GIL|OPGT}} is a small domestic airport situated 1.25 [[nautical mile|nm]] (2.3&nbsp;km) east of [[Gilgit]],<ref name=AIP>[[Aeronautical Information Publication|AIP]] Pakistan: [http://www.eais.com.pk/airport%20data%20files/OPGT.htm OPGT – Gilgit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019023818/http://www.eais.com.pk/airport%20data%20files/OPGT.htm |date=2007-10-19 }}
</ref> a city in the [[Gilgit-Baltistan]] territory of Pakistan. The city of Gilgit is one of the two major hubs for mountaineering expeditions in the northern areas of Pakistan.

==Structure==
[[File:Gilgit Airport Winter Picture.JPG|thumbnail|right|Gilgit Airport in December 2015]]
[[File:PIA ATR-42.jpg|thumbnail|right| [[ATR 42-500]] at Gilgit Airport in July 2016]]
Because of the location of the runway in the Gilgit valley, larger aircraft can not operate at the airport. The airport has a 5,400ft long runway 07/25 but it is not aligned with the length of the valley that makes it hard for take offs or landings from both sides. Very rarely aircraft land or take from the CAA park side of the runway. [[Pakistan International Airlines]] currently operates [[ATR 42]] aircraft on the Gilgit-Islamabad route. In the past, [[Fokker F-27 Friendship]]s were used. Other aircraft that operate at the airport include the military [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules]]. In the event of a diversion or aborted landing due to bad weather, inbound aircraft typically return to Islamabad, so care must be taken to carry enough fuel for the round trip.

A new terminal was constructed in 2014 and inaugurated by Prime Minister [[Nawaz Sharif]].<ref>[https://www.greaterkashmir.com/business/gilgit-gets-new-airport-building "Gilgit gets new airport building"], ''Greater Kashmir'', December 6, 2014, updated March 14, 2015.</ref>

The airport was planned to be twice as extensive, but waterlogged ground led to half the allocated land being used for a public park, CAA Park or City Park Gilgit.

== Airport history ==
Gilgit historically received aircraft before partition of the Indian subcontinent.  Even today almost the same route is used by the pilots to reach Gilgit airport. Weather condition and good visibility is a must for Gilgit-Islamabad flight operations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Astin |first=Robert |date=7 March 2017 |title=Flying over the Himalayas: RAF Flight to Gilgit in November 1934 |url=https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2017/03/flying-over-the-himalayas-raf-flight-to-gilgit-in-november-1934.html}}</ref>

The airport was originally constructed in 1949, It was later upgraded in 1958 with pavement. 

==Airlines and destinations==
<!-- Please use only independent sources. The airport or the airline itself are not independent sources. -->
Due to the small size of the airport, smaller aircraft mostly turboprops like ATR-42 and C-130 are able to safely land and take off from this airport. Flights are scheduled mostly from Islamabad. However, in 2022, PIA started flights from Karachi and Lahore through a stopover at Islamabad.<ref>[https://www.dawn.com/news/1675856 "PIA to resume Gilgit, Skardu flights on Mar 3"], ''Dawn'', February 19, 2022.</ref>
{{Airport-dest-list
|[[Pakistan International Airlines]] | [[Islamabad International Airport|Islamabad]], Seasonal: [[Allama Iqbal International Airport|Lahore]]
}}
[[File:Gilgit Airport view from Barmus Valley.jpg|thumb|View from Barmus Valley]]

==Accidents==
[[File:PIA Flight AP-BHP ATR-42 500.jpg|thumb|right|The plane involved in the incident in 2019]]
[[File:Abandoned ATR-42 at Gilgit Airport.jpg|thumb|right|PIA Flight PK 605 Registration AP-BHP involved in the accident at Gilgit Airport. The aircraft has been written off.]]
* On August 25, 1989, [[Pakistan International Airlines Flight 404]], a Fokker F27 carrying 54 people, disappeared after leaving Gilgit. The wreckage has not been found.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19890825-1 "Aircraft accident Fokker F27 Friendship AP-BBF Himalaya Mountains"], Aviation Safety Network, retrieved September 7, 2021.</ref>
* On July 20, 2019, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 605, an ATR carrying 53 people, skidded off the runway and came to rest on the grass. All the passengers were evacuated safely, but the plane was damaged.<ref>[https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/07/20/pia-plane-skids-off-runway-while-landing-at-gilgit-airport/ "PIA plane escapes accident at Gilgit airport"], ''Pakistan Today'', July 20, 2019.</ref>

== Flight updates ==
While not an official airline source, gilgitairport.com offers a platform for travelers to access potentially up-to-date information on flight status, gathered and verified locally.<ref>[https://gilgitairport.com/about-us "About GilgitAirport.com"], ''GilgitAirport'', December 20, 2023.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of airports in Pakistan]]
* [[Airlines of Pakistan]]
* [[Skardu International Airport]]
* [[Chilas Airfield]]
* [[Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* {{ASN|GIL}}

{{Pakistan airports}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Airports in Gilgit-Baltistan]]


{{Pakistan-airport-stub}}