SkyAlps leadership says its experience flying into challenging Alpine airports could help connect Pakistan’s smaller cities and mountainous destinations
Pakistan’s difficult geography has long been viewed as a challenge for domestic aviation. For the leadership of Italian regional airline SkyAlps, however, that same geography represents an opportunity. Speaking exclusively to Abdullah Gauhar Malik of Pakistan Observer during a recent visit to Pakistan, the leadership of SkyAlps Italy and SkyAlps Europe outlined plans to explore the country’s regional aviation market through a local strategic partnership, arguing that aircraft designed for short runways and demanding mountainous conditions could help connect destinations currently underserved by commercial aviation.
At the centre of their plans is the Dash 8 turboprop — an aircraft SkyAlps already operates in Europe and which the company believes is particularly suited to Pakistan’s northern regions and smaller airports. “We have short runways and high mountains,” the President and Founder of SkyAlps Italy told Pakistan Observer, drawing parallels between operations in the European Alps and conditions in northern Pakistan. According to the company, SkyAlps currently has a fleet of 14 aircraft, with 10 operational, and has built part of its business around serving regional destinations that cannot necessarily accommodate larger commercial aircraft. The airline began taking shape in 2019, before its plans were interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Operations subsequently began in 2021 with two aircraft, and the fleet has since expanded.
From the Alps to Pakistan
The executives said their interest in Pakistan emerged following discussions with a prospective local partner looking for aircraft suitable for the Pakistani market. Those initial conversations eventually led the SkyAlps team to examine Pakistan more closely, with the size of the population and the relatively limited regional air connectivity standing out as an opportunity. “The potential is so big,” the SkyAlps president said, adding that his visit to the country had left him increasingly confident about the possibilities for the Pakistani market.
The proposition is relatively straightforward: use smaller regional aircraft to connect cities and destinations that are difficult to serve efficiently with larger jets. For passengers, the impact could be significant. Journeys that currently require lengthy road travel could potentially be replaced by flights lasting a fraction of the time, something the company believes could have consequences beyond convenience, particularly for business activity and tourism. “You connect Pakistan quicker,” the president said. “It means more wealth and more business.”
The mountain opportunity
Pakistan’s northern tourism destinations present perhaps the clearest case for the type of aircraft SkyAlps operates. Airports surrounded by mountainous terrain require very different operational considerations from conventional airports, with altitude, runway length, aircraft performance and safe departure routes all becoming critical factors. SkyAlps executives pointed specifically to Skardu as an example of the type of operating environment where their experience could prove useful, drawing comparisons with some of the challenging airports the airline already serves in Europe.
“The market that we are going to serve is a market where nobody else can go in the same way that we are doing,” the CEO of SkyAlps Europe said. He stressed that operating in such environments requires specialised training and detailed performance calculations, particularly to ensure safe operations in the event of an engine problem after take-off. The company believes its experience operating around difficult European airports gives it technical knowledge that could be relevant to Pakistan’s aviation environment.
For Pakistan’s tourism sector, more reliable regional connectivity could potentially address one of the persistent obstacles facing travellers: the amount of time required to reach some of the country’s most attractive destinations. As the executives noted, a tourist with limited time may be reluctant to sacrifice a day or more travelling by road when faster alternatives are unavailable. Better air links between major cities and regional destinations could therefore not only reduce journey times but also make parts of the country more accessible to both domestic and international travellers.
Building locally
SkyAlps’ ambitions in Pakistan extend beyond simply bringing aircraft into the country. The CEO of SkyAlps Europe said the group wants to build a broader aviation structure with its Pakistani partner, drawing on experience not only in airline operations but also in aircraft maintenance. In Europe, the group has invested in maintenance capabilities alongside its airline operations, and it hopes that a similar ecosystem could eventually be developed in Pakistan.
The executives were candid that entering a new aviation market would not be without difficulty. “It’s not easy, but it’s possible,” the CEO said. The logic behind the proposed partnership, he explained, is to combine SkyAlps’ technical and operational experience with a Pakistani partner’s understanding of the local market and its opportunities. “We have the experience, they have the opportunity,” he said, expressing optimism that the combination could provide a strong foundation for future operations.
For SkyAlps, the partnership is also about bringing specialised expertise into a market where the company believes there is considerable room for growth. The executives repeatedly emphasised that success would depend on understanding local conditions rather than simply replicating a European model in Pakistan. Their approach, they said, would involve combining local knowledge with the experience SkyAlps has accumulated operating regional aircraft in challenging environments.
Looking beyond aviation
Perhaps most strikingly, the visiting executives do not necessarily see aviation as the end of their interest in Pakistan. During the conversation, the SkyAlps president pointed to the country’s large population and development needs as reasons international investors should examine opportunities across multiple sectors. “Let us start with the airline,” he said, before identifying energy and hospitality among areas that could eventually merit consideration.
For now, however, aviation remains the immediate focus. Pakistan’s regional aviation market has often struggled to reach its potential despite a geography that arguably makes air connectivity particularly valuable. Large distances, mountainous terrain and long road journeys create a strong case for regional flights — provided they can be operated safely, reliably and commercially sustainably. SkyAlps believes its experience in the Alps could provide part of that equation.
The company’s plans remain at an exploratory and partnership-building stage, and translating ambition into sustained commercial operations will require navigating the realities of Pakistan’s aviation market. Yet the proposition raised during the exclusive conversation with Pakistan Observer is an intriguing one: rather than viewing Pakistan’s mountains, short runways and difficult terrain simply as barriers to connectivity, they could become the reason for deploying a different model of regional aviation.
For an international aviation company accustomed to building routes around challenging terrain, Pakistan’s difficult geography may be precisely what makes the market worth exploring.