Defence minister announces rehabilitation of DIK airport after 'years of neglect'

Pakistan's Defense Minister, Khawaja Asif, announced on Wednesday that the Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) had succeeded in rehabilitating Dera Ismail Khan (DIK) Airport that has since returned to its full operational capacity after being non-operational for years.

In an update on X, Asif mentioned that "PAA and the Ministry of Defence have continued working on restoring and rehabilitating dysfunctional airports across the country."

In the previous year, the Pakistan Airports Authority had commissioned a modernized Doppler VHF Omnidirectional Range and Distance Measuring Equipment (DVOR/DME) at the airport during the process of rehabilitation.

Doppler VHF Omnidirectional Range and Distance Measuring Equipment (DVOR/DME) is a kind of a ground navigation aid equipment in aviation designed to help aircraft know their positions and distances from a known point.

The Dera Ismail Khan Airport is strategically important, being located in the K-P region and having the shortest approach towards the capital city of Afghanistan and Central Asian States.

Nevertheless, the airport had been out of operation due to the lack of operations as flight operations, even domestic flights, were not available due to high costs.