Karachi vs Islamabad vs Lahore: the growth gap.

Looking at passenger traffic growth (%) over the last two decades tells a stark story.

Between 2006–07 and 2023–24:

Karachi: +16%
Islamabad: +121%
Lahore: +104%

Same country. Same aviation system. Very different outcomes.

Karachi did grow — but slowly.

Islamabad and Lahore more than doubled their air traffic.

This is why Karachi’s dominance faded even without collapsing.

Growth momentum simply shifted elsewhere.