Passengers flying out of Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport won’t have to dread long immigration lines anymore.
The government announced plans to install electronic gates, allowing travelers to scan their passports themselves and breeze through the process without waiting for an immigration officer. This is a welcome change for anyone who’s ever gotten stuck in a slow-moving queue at the airport.
But the new e-gates are just one piece of a bigger puzzle. Pakistan is looking to revamp its entire aviation sector, and that includes potentially bringing in outside companies to manage the operations of major airports like Lahore’s. This “outsourcing” wouldn’t mean selling off the airports entirely, but rather handing over day-to-day operations to private firms. Critical services like air traffic control and security would still be under government control.
These changes are part of an ongoing effort to modernize Pakistan’s air travel industry. Another big piece of the puzzle is the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the national carrier. The government is hoping to sell PIA to a private company by June of this year, to improve efficiency and service.