Flights to Gilgit, Skardu and Chitral: Routes and Tips

Flights to Gilgit and Skardu both leave from Islamabad and take about an hour, but they are very different services. Skardu takes jets and is served by PIA, Airblue and AirSial, with direct flights from Lahore and Karachi as well. Gilgit is served only by PIA, on small ATR turboprops from Islamabad. Chitral, the third northern airport, has had only an on-and-off PIA service in recent years. All three depend on clear weather, so every flight north needs a spare day behind it.

This guide gives the overview: which airports serve which valleys, who flies where, why flights are cancelled, and how to book so that a cancellation costs you a day rather than the trip. Our route-by-route guides go into fares and seat choice for each.

Which airport for which valley?

Only three northern airports have scheduled passenger flights, and none of them is in the valley most people are heading for.

• Skardu serves Skardu itself, Shigar, Khaplu and Deosai. The airport is at about 2,225 metres, west of the town towards Kachura.
• Gilgit serves Gilgit, Naltar, Hunza and Nagar. Karimabad is about 100 km and two to two and a half hours up the Karakoram Highway.
• Chitral serves Chitral town, the Kalash valleys and Upper Chitral.

There is no airport for Naran, Swat, Kumrat or the Neelum valley; those are road trips from Islamabad. Fairy Meadows is closest to Gilgit by road, though most people come up the highway from Islamabad.

Hunza travellers sometimes fly to Skardu when the Gilgit flights are full, and then drive about seven hours to Karimabad via Gilgit. Our guide to flying from Karachi to Hunza compares the options.

Flights to Skardu

Skardu has two long runways of about 3,650 metres, and it has been an international airport since December 2021. That is why it gets jets and a choice of airlines.

• From Islamabad: PIA, Airblue and, since 18 May 2026, AirSial, which launched the route with Airbus A320s. The flight takes about an hour, and most departures are in the morning.
• From Lahore: PIA and Airblue, about an hour and a half.
• From Karachi: PIA, and Airblue since May 2025, non-stop on a few days a week, about two and a quarter hours.
• From abroad: PIA has run a seasonal Dubai–Skardu service since 2023.

In 2026, one-way fares from Islamabad ranged from around PKR 13,000 on an early promotional fare to PKR 35,000 or more for a late booking in peak season. Prices change daily. Our Islamabad to Skardu flight guide covers fares, baggage and which side to sit for Nanga Parbat, and our Karachi to Skardu guide covers the direct flights and the connections.

Flights to Gilgit

Gilgit's runway is short, about 1,650 metres, in a narrow valley, and only turboprops use it. PIA is the only airline, flying ATR 42s from Islamabad, with up to three return flights a day in busy months and fewer at other times. The flight takes a little over an hour.

That has three practical effects:

1. Few seats. Each aircraft carries a few dozen passengers, so summer and holiday flights sell out early.
2. No alternative airline. When a flight is cancelled, you wait for the next PIA seat or drive.
3. Tighter baggage. The cabin is small and hand baggage is limited to 7 kg; the checked allowance depends on your fare.

One-way fares seen in 2026 were mostly between about PKR 24,000 and 32,000. PIA has at times also flown Lahore to Gilgit, and sells Karachi to Gilgit journeys with a connection in Islamabad. Our Islamabad to Gilgit flight guide covers the schedule and what to do when yours is cancelled.

Flights to Chitral

Chitral's airport is at about 1,500 metres, and PIA is the only airline to have flown there in recent years, from Islamabad on ATR turboprops. The service has been stop-start for a long time. PIA resumed it twice a week in June 2024 after a year's gap, suspended it again, and then announced a weekly flight from 5 April 2025. That first flight did not operate, for lack of passengers; locals had complained that the fare, around PKR 15,000 for a flight of about half an hour, was close to the price of Islamabad to Karachi, and that the afternoon timing was poor for a valley where cloud builds quickly over the Lowari Pass.

In short: check PIA's website to see whether a Chitral flight exists on your dates before building a plan around it. With one or two flights a week, a single cancellation can mean waiting days for the next. The reliable way in is by road through the Lowari tunnel; our Islamabad to Chitral road guide covers the drive.

A new regional airline, South Air, which began scheduled flights in July 2026 with ATR aircraft, has announced plans for Gilgit, Chitral and Skardu services from Islamabad and Lahore. As of September 2026 those northern routes had not started. If they do, they would be the first competition PIA has faced into Gilgit and Chitral.

Why northern flights get cancelled

All three routes run through high mountains, and the airlines operate them only when visibility along the route and at the airport is good. Low cloud, rain, snow or haze at either end can stop a flight even when Islamabad is clear.

The pattern is consistent across the three airports:

• Winter and spring are worst. From December to April, cancellations for a day or more at a stretch are common. In April 2025, eight Skardu flights were grounded by bad weather, and Gilgit flights from Islamabad and Lahore were cancelled in the same spell.
• Summer is better, not certain. Monsoon cloud still grounds flights in July and August.
• Gilgit and Chitral are more exposed than Skardu, because turboprops on short mountain runways need better conditions, and there are fewer flights to rebook onto.
• Not every cancellation is the weather. Flights have also been cancelled for technical and operational reasons, and in May 2025 northern flights were suspended at short notice during the tension with India.

Cancellations are often announced on the day, sometimes after check-in.

How to book northern flights

1. Book the first flight of the morning. Mountain weather tends to build during the day, and a cancelled early flight leaves time to rebook or start driving.
2. Keep a spare day at both ends. Never book the flight out of Gilgit, Skardu or Chitral for the day before an international departure or anything you cannot move. In winter, keep two.
3. Book early for June to August, Eid and 14 August. The Gilgit flights sell out first.
4. Compare airlines for Skardu. The difference between PIA, Airblue and AirSial on the same date can be large.
5. Check the baggage in your fare. Warm clothes, camera gear or trekking kit can cost more in excess baggage than you saved on the ticket.
6. Pay a little more for a changeable fare on routes where cancellations are routine.
7. Know your road fallback. Islamabad to Gilgit or Skardu is two days by road; plan where you would stop if you had to drive.
8. Carry your CNIC (children need their B-Form); foreign nationals need a passport with a valid visa.

Fly, drive or both?

Fly if your trip is a week or less, if you are travelling with small children or older parents who would find two long days on the Karakoram Highway hard, or if you are going between October and May, when the Babusar Pass is closed and the days are short.

Drive if you want your own car in the north, if you are four or five people sharing fuel, or if losing a day to a cancellation would wreck the plan. The road has delays of its own, but they are more predictable.

Do both if you can. Flying up and driving back, or the reverse, gives you the time saving of one flight while keeping a fallback for the other. Flying into Skardu and out of Gilgit, with the drive between them, works well too.

Our Skardu and Deosai trip starts with a flight from Islamabad when the weather allows and ends with a spare day held for the flight out, which is how we suggest planning any flight north.

Frequently asked questions