Islamabad’s newly constructed airport sustained damaged following a heavy thunderstorm that took place last week Friday which is recorded to be a second time, prompting the country’s aviation authorities to launch a probe. A video from inside the airport’s departure lounge showed parts of the ceiling crumbling and falling below during the heavy downpour.
Several parts of the false ceiling came down as drains overflowed on the roof of the passenger terminal building. The CAA said in a statement that several options are being considered to prevent this from reoccurring – again. Some of these include adding more water pipes for quick flushing into multiple drains, or, to change the entire design of the rooftop drainage system.
According to Pakistan’s media reports, a spokesperson of the Aviation Division said that the incident occurred on the morning of August 14. when 56 millimetres of rain lashed the region.
The Islamabad airport was built just two years ago and an inquiry into its faulty construction is currently underway after rainwater entered the airport on multiple occasions in the past.
Following the incident, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority mentioned in series of tweets that its Director-General “has taken cognizance of the damage caused by rainfall at IIAP”.
Pakistan’s Federal Minister of Aviation, Ghulam Sarwar Khan and the Director General of PCAA have also sought a detailed report from officials. The aviation minister will visit the airport to review the situation.
The Islamabad International Airport became fully functional in 2018, with all the flight operations shifting from Benazir Bhutto International Airport.