PakistaniAviation.com

Karachi airport before partition. Notice the Kala-Chapra (Black Hangar) which was built to house/hangar the British R101 airship. Only three such airship hangars were built around the world.

This is the first letter send by the British authorities to the Subcontinent when the Karachi airport was constructed. Its has the date written on the left hand as 1938.
Photo Scanned & e-mailed to me by Nausherwan Ahmed

Photo of Kala Chapra (Black Hangar). It was a huge black colored hangar constructed by the British in Karachi for the British R101 airship. Only three hangars were built around the world to dock/hangar the R101 airship. Unfortunately the R101 airship didn't arrive in India, it crashed early in its journey in France. This hangar was so huge that aircrafts used it as a visual marker while attempting VFR (Visual) landing at Karachi. This hangar was also known as the landmark of Karachi. During the '60s, President Gen. Ayub Khan unwisely ordered this hangar to be torn down. Thereby destroying a big part of the aviation heritage Pakistan.
Photo Scanned & e-mailed to me by Nausherwan Ahmed. Information provided by Brian Knight

This photo shows the first mail which arrived at Bombay under the Empire Airlines Scheme. However Karachi Airport was the first airport in SouthAsia that this aircraft landed at on 7th April 1929. Making Karachi International Airport the first airport in SouthAsia to be used by a commercial flight.

Back