Fly Jinnah has overtaken Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to become the country’s largest domestic airline in terms of passenger traffic, according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data for 2024-25.
The airline carried 1.967 million passengers on domestic routes during the financial year, compared with 1.851 million passengers transported by PIA.
This gave Fly Jinnah a lead of approximately 116,000 passengers over the national carrier.
Airblue ranked third, carrying 1.004 million domestic passengers, while AirSial secured fourth position with 813,000 passengers.
Pakistan currently has 37 airlines providing air services, including five domestic and 32 foreign carriers.
The five local airlines are Fly Jinnah, PIA, Airblue, AirSial, and South Air. SereneAir has remained inactive since October 2025.
Foreign Airlines Dominate International Travel
On international routes, Emirates holds the largest share of Pakistan’s air travel market, followed by Saudi Arabian Airlines and Qatar Airways.
Emirates operates 39 weekly flights to and from Pakistan, while Saudi Arabian Airlines runs 30 weekly flights. Qatar Airways operates 28 flights per week, followed by Etihad Airways with 23.
Emirates also operates seven daily flights from Karachi.
Pakistan’s international air travel market handles an estimated 15 million to 16 million passengers annually. Emirates accounts for approximately 18 to 20 percent of this market.
The airline is estimated to sell around $1.2 billion worth of tickets annually in Pakistan, excluding cargo revenue.
Qatar Airways generates an estimated $800 million to $900 million in annual revenue from Pakistan, while Saudi Arabian Airlines’ revenue is estimated at $700 million to $750 million.
Foreign airlines collectively receive nearly two-thirds of the revenue generated from international air tickets in Pakistan.
The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has emphasized the need to strengthen local airlines to retain a larger share of this revenue within the country. Otherwise, a significant portion of earnings from international air travel will continue flowing to foreign carriers.
