In a first, passenger jet takes road from Karachi to Hyderabad

KARACHI: Planes are meant to soar through the skies, especially large passenger jetliners, yet, the unusual decision to transport one from Karachi to Hyderabad by road is sure to become an event comparable to the recent road trip of three Boeing 777s through the deserts of Saudi Arabia.

For the first time in the country’s history, a grounded plane is being transported from one city to another via road on Thursday, sources told Geo News. 

Hyderabad is over 150 kilometres from Karachi, usually a 2.5-hour drive at normal speeds, but this trip will take much longer.

"A special truck and a trolley are being used to transport the Boeing 737’s fuselage as its wings and tail will be moved separately," sources said, adding that it will be reassembled at the Civil Aviation Training Institute (CATI) Hyderabad and used for training airport firefighters.

According to transporter Humayun Khalid, the aircraft is 110 feet long and weighs 40 tonnes. "This defunct plane is a Boeing 737 with a capacity of 240 people. It was moved from the airport to the Superhighway late at night," Khalid told Geo News.

The Motorway Police said the motorway would not be blocked during the transfer. The long vehicle carrying the fuselage will drive on one side of the road, escorted by CAA staff and security. "The plane is being moved as per protocol," they added.

Traffic was, however, heavily affected during the trailer’s journey along the motorway.

Sources noted a similar event in the late 1980s when a plane was moved within Karachi by road and parked at a CAA centre near Hassan Square in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. It was later repurposed as a restaurant. 

In September, three retired Boeing 777 aircraft of Saudi Arabian Airlines garnered significant attention for their 1,000-kilometre journey from Jeddah to Riyadh by road, with scenes of the aircraft travelling through deserts and mountains widely shared on social media.