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September 23, 2020Karachi – Jinnah International Airport – Spotting Guide
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- last modified on September 5, 2020
Karachi – Jinnah International Airport (KHI / OPKC) is Pakistan’s busiest airport. It is situated in Pakistan’s most populous city, Karachi which over 20 million people call their home. Karachi is the financial hub of Pakistan so naturally, air travel is generally very high relative to all of Pakistan. Most major airline movements occur through the night where the ME3, Turkish airlines and a few other Middle Eastern LCC make their presence. During the day time, Pakistan International Airlines, Airblue and SereneAir, the 3 local airlines which have their hubs at this airport can be seen performing domestic operations with PIA going further with international operations.
The airport catered to 7.58 million passengers in 2019-2020. The airport generally caters to about 30 flights per day. Cargo operations are fairly limited with DHL and Qatar Cargo being the only regular carriers but you can expect the odd 747 or 767 cargo to drop by any time. Most operations take place using the main runway 25L/07R. 25L is active for most days of the year while 07R is used during the winters and monsoon season. 25R/07L acts as a secondary runway, and is used by General Aviation mostly but it does cater to commercial traffic if 25L is unavailable.
Written by Shajie HUSSAIN (Plane Spotters Pakistan, PSPK member). Last Update: August 2020
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| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 07R/25L | 3,400m (11,155ft) – Concrete |
| 07L/25R | 3,200m (10,500ft) – Concrete |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Strictly not allowed. |
| Car/Public Transport | Easy access in cars and public transport but recommended that you not be seen in by security. |
| Restrooms | Available in nearby restaurants. |
| Drinks/Food | Plenty of restaurants available nearby to get food. |
| Hotels | We have recommended a few see on the map. |
| Season | Recommended from September till April. May – June are hot and July-August is mostly overcast. Some haze during the winter is expected but the weather is mostly good. It rarely rains in Karachi and most days of the year are sunny. |
| Security | +++ SPOTTING IS AT YOUR OWN RISK IN PAKISTAN +++
Spotting in Pakistan is neither supported or understood or tolerated. Especially taking pictures evincing airport buildings or facilities will may cause problems and punishments (which can range from a check by police to imprisonment in worst case) by the police. We will not be liable for any inconveniences with local authorities. Spotting at Jinnah International Airport,Karachi KHI is at your own risk. Keep a low profile wherever you are. Spotterguide recommend you to get in touch with the locals by using their following email: pspk.media@gmail.com |
| Runway Usage | |
| General Info | Rwys 25L/07R is the main in use depending wind conditions. |
| 25L/07R | Runway 25L/07R is the main runway at Karachi which is used for most movements throughout the day and is the only runway certified for Code D aircraft (Boeing 777 or below). |
| 25R/07L | 25R/07L serves as a secondary runway which is certified for Code C aircraft (A310 or below) and is only used as a backup runway. |
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Kazimabad Park, Model Colony - Morning Arrivals rwy25L
| WHERE | This small park inside Model Colony is a good location to spot westerly arrivals. Drive onto Jinnah Ave alongside the airport fence, make a right turn into Model Colony. There will be a mosque (Masjid-e-Hira) opposite to this location |
| WHAT | This is a good location to spot arrivals for runway 25L. However, due to the infrastructure around this area, there is a small window to capture the aircraft and 25R arrivals are not visible. |
| TIME | Best light conditions from 8 am to 4 pm in the winters and 8 am till 1 pm in the summer. |
| MISC. | There are plenty of small stores to find essential supplies – water, snacks. This park is used by kids in the evening to play football or cricket so beware if you take your camera out amongst childen, they will be fascinated by it and will want to see what you’re trying to capture. Maintain a low profile, as with every other location in Pakistan, and try not to gather attention. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | |
Pakistan Army Battle Tank Monument - Afternoon Arrivals 25L/R
| WHERE | Drive along the airport fence on Jinnah Ave until you arrive at a roundabout. To the right, you will see a big battle tank which is a popular spot for the locals to hangout. |
| WHAT | A very good location to spot runway 25L and 25R arrivals. You can see the aircraft coming from far away |
| TIME | Best conditions from 2 pm to 5 pm during the summers only. This location is mostly backlit during the winters. |
| MISC. | This is a very public location. There are a lot of people around so making yourself scarce is very hard. Keep your camera in your bag and wait for the aircraft to come. Take pictures with the aircraft being very close to you and then keep the camera inside the bag. The locals are nice and usually ask questions so just be polite and they’ll leave you to it. However, there is a big military installation just adjacent to this place with plenty of watch towers. We recommend you to sit behind a big wall build behind the tank so the tower can’t see you. If they do, you may be detained and your camera will be confiscated and you will be asked to delete all pictures. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | At the very least, 75 mm for narrow bodies and 50 mm for wide bodies. This is a nice location for videos as well. |
Emply plot, Model Colony - End of the day Arrivals rwy25L
| WHERE | Drive along the fence on Jinnah Ave. On the roundabout, turn right and go past the big battle tank. Make a U turn and come back towards the airport. On the last turn before reaching the main road, turn left and inside the small street which running parallel to the main road, separated by a wall. Go back until you come across an empty plot. |
| WHAT | If you want a head on shot for arrivals on 25L, this is the place to be. |
| TIME | Best time would be in the evening when the sun is lighting up the front of the aircraft. After 5 pm during summers and after 3 pm during winters. |
| MISC. | There are some viewing constraints due to trees and wires, but overall, a pretty decent location. The location is safe as you’re further away from the airport and there is a wall which keeps you out of sight from the security check posts across the roads. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 50-100mm. |
Royal Taste Pizza - airport overview & arrivals rwy25 + departures rwy07
| WHERE | On Jinnah Ave, this pizza place will be across the road from the fence of the airport. |
| WHAT | Want a decent runway overview in Karachi? Head on over to Royal Taste Pizza, go to the first floor and make your way to the corner where is a large window to shoot from. Have a slice of pizza and enjoy the aircraft lining up for departure or flying overhead to land. The window may be dirty but the view is surely worth it. Runway 25 arrivals and 07 departures. |
| TIME | Best time would be before 3 pm on any day. |
| MISC. | You have some pizza and enjoy the runway view. Unfortunately the window is a bit dirty so you can only enjoy this view. If you want to press your luck, go for it. Employees won’t say anything and you don’t have the be fearful of the authorities making an entrance here. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 50-300mm |
California Pizza - End of the day - Airport overview
| WHERE | On Jinnah Ave, this pizza place will be across the road from the fence of the airport, just a few house behind Royal Taste Pizza. |
| WHAT | Arrivals and departures for 25L/07R and 25R/07L. |
| TIME | Terrace opens after 6 pm and will be backlit during summers. |
| MISC. | Another pizza place; lucky you! This establishment has a second floor open rooftop which is as good as it gets. You can see the entire airport from here. However, there is only a small window to capture aircraft so you need to be ready with flight radar apps to know when an aircraft will fly by. The pizza here is delicious, make sure you order some. There is a security watch tower just across the road so ensure that you’re out of their sight and all will be good. Keep in mind, the terrace only opens after 6 pm! During winter, sunset is at 6pm so you’re better off practising your night photography. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 75 mm for 25L arrivals, 150 mm for 07R departures. |
Visitor's Gallery at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi - All day Apron overview & runways actions
| WHERE | Make your way to the airport. Park your car and move towards Jinnah Terminal. Find the elevator and ride it to the top floor. |
| WHAT | Entire apron view of Jinnah Terminal where all the commercial flights park. Runway action in the distance. |
| TIME | 8 am to 4 pm during winters, 8 am to 1 m during summers. |
| MISC. | In an ideal world, we would be talking about solely shooting from Jinnah International Airport’s visitor gallery which offers amazing views of the entire airfield. However, the gallery has been closed since 2014 due to security reasons. If you were to somehow get special permission by writing to the CAA and ASF, make your way to the terminal and finding the elevator/lift in the departures or arrivals hall, and go to the top – then from there, make your way to the terrace where you would be able to view the entire apron and runway. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | For aircraft at the gate, at least 100mm. For runway action, at least 350mm. |
ASF Park - Morning departures rwy25L
| WHERE | Make your way from Jauhar Chowrangi road towards the airport. There will be a big roundabout with Habib University off your right. Turn right where there will be a security check and then you can proceed. Keep going straight until you reach a park with a huge Boeing 747 parked in it. |
| WHAT | Rwy 25L departures. |
| TIME | 8 am to 4 pm for winters, 8 am to 2 pm for summers. |
| MISC. | This is a decent place to spot departures and arrivals. However, because it’s inside airport territory, stay inside your car and be on the lookout for airport security. Their HQ is just a few hundred meters ahead so they might detain you. There is a big 747 in a park ahead which you can enjoy but it’s out of bounds for civilians and only for ASF employees and their families. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | You would need at least 150 mm for a crop frame here. |
Mudassir Park - All day winters Rwys 07R/07L Arrivals
| WHERE | Located inside KDA scheme 1, on Karsaz road take the first left and drive inside the service road running parallel to the main road, driving past Dunkin Donuts.Take the second left and you arrive at the park. |
| WHAT | Rwys 07R and 07L arrivals. |
| TIME | All day during winters. |
| MISC. | Open location, aircraft are quite high at this point but if you have a decent lens, you can get the job done here. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | At least 200 mm on crop frame. |
University ave - All day all rwys
| WHERE | Just before the ASF 747 park on same route. |
| WHAT | All runways. |
| TIME | All day. |
| MISC. | Believe it not, you can actually stand and enjoy aircraft movement from just across the fence. However, you can’t just openly whip your DSLR out and start shooting away. Use you mobile phones for the very low arriving aircraft that go past just 100 ft above your head. Authorities don’t mind mobile phones most of the time. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | N/A |
++No pictures available for now, thank you for your understanding++