Allama Iqbal International Airport
Allama Iqbal International Airport is the second largest civil airport in Pakistan, serving Lahore, the capital of Punjab province. Originally known as Lahore International Airport, it was renamed in 2003 for Muhammad Iqbal, the Islamic poet-philosopher who was a major advocate for the creation of the state of Pakistan, upon the opening of the new terminal building.The airport currently has three terminals: the Allama Iqbal terminal, the Hajj terminal, and a cargo terminal. The airport is located about 15Â kilometres from the centre of the city. A total of 3,192,904 passengers have travelled through Allama Iqbal International Airport in 2009 making it the 2nd busiest airport in Pakistan.On 5 March 2010, the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan released a tender for the expansion of the airport. The number of check-in desks will be doubled from 24 to 48, as will the number of immigration counters from 10 to 20. The terminal will also be expanded and the area which was strategically kept aside for future expansion when the airport was built will be fully utilised.HistoryAt the time of the creation of Pakistan, Walton Airport was the main airport of Lahore. When Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) acquired jet aircraft such as Boeing 720s, however, Walton was unable to handle the large aircraft. The Government of Pakistan thus decided to build a brand new airport, which opened in 1962 as Lahore International Airport and was able to handle aircraft as large as the Boeing 747.
