Trip to Pakistan 2024: places

I’m an aviation geek. That means I don’t just take photos of people, I also take photos of the places I go to. Or, well, go through :)

Melbourne Airport

Ground staff member waiting for the luggage containers to turn up

Photo of an airport apron that has a wide-body aircraft parked on it. The aircraft is in the process of being loaded with catering supplies. A roller ramp has been parked to the side of the aircraft. A member of the ground staff is sitting on the corner of this roller ramp, waiting for the luggage containers to arrive so they can be loaded into the aircraft hold.

The Etihad Boeing 777 that flew us from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi

Wide-angle photo of a wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft parked at the gate of an airport terminal.

Abu Dhabi Airport

This corner of Terminal A at Abu Dhabi Airport is quite empty at 2am

Wide-angle photo of large, high-ceiling, shiny, brand new airport terminal building. One one side of the building are windows that go from the ground to the fourth floor. From the angle the photo is taken you can see parts of all four floors, all of which are connected by escalators and elevators.

Waiting at at empty departure gate at Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal A

Photo of a large, heigh-ceiling, mostly empty airport departure gate. This section of the building is at least two storeys high, with a wide, elevated walkway running through the centre. In the departure are are several round-backed single-seater sofas for waiting passengers to sit on.

Walnut crescent cookie shaped lights at Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal A departure gates

Wide-angle photo looking up at a large, crescent shaped, white-and-cream coloured light fixture. This light fixture is mounted on a tall pillar along a first-floor walkway in a high-ceiling airport terminal building.

Walnut crescent cookie shaped lights at the new Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal A

Photo looking up at a large, crescent shaped, white-and-cream coloured light fixture. This light fixture is mounted on a tall pillar along a first-floor walkway in a high-ceiling airport terminal building.

Etihad Airways Airbus A320 aircraft taxiing to its gate at Abu Dhabi Airport

This was the Airbus A320 that flew us from Abu Dhabi to Karachi.

Photo of a narrow-body Airbus A320 aircraft in Etihad Airways livery taxiing to its gate.

Airbus A320 approaching Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal A gate 640

Photo of a narrow-body Airbus A320 aircraft in Etihad Airways livery slowly approaching a terminal boarding gate.

Airbus A320 getting settled at Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal A gate 640

Photo of a narrow-body Airbus A320 aircraft in Etihad Airways livery parked at a terminal boarding gate. The passenger boarding bridge (aka air bridge) from the terminal is in the process of being extended towards the front-left door of the aircraft and there are several ground operations team members walking around below the aircraft. And ‘Airside Operations Leader’ car is parked in front of the gate at which this aircraft has parked.

The Boeing 787 that took us from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne

Photo taken through large floor-to-ceiling windows of an airport terminal building of a wide-body aircraft in Etihad Airways livery parked at a gate. In the background you can see the airport’s weather radar and control tower.

The Boeing 787 that took us from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne

Photo of a wide-body aircraft parked at an airport gate. It is connected from its left side to the terminal building via a passenger boarding bridge (aka air bridge). On its right side luggage is being loaded onto it. In the background are the other terminal buildings of Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal A.

Karachi Airport

Heading from Karachi to Islamabad

Photo of an airport apron taken from inside a passenger boarding bridge (aka air bridge). The gate next to this one is empty.

Islamabad Airport

The Fly Jinnah Airbus A320 that took us from Islamabad to Karachi

Photo of a narrow-body Airbus A320 aircraft in Fly Jinnah livery parked on the apron at an airport. Several ground staff are walking around the aircraft, getting it ready to start deplaning its passengers and cargo.

Trip to Pakistan 2024: people

Nadia and I took three weeks off to go visit friends and family in Pakistan. Naturally I took several photos as we travelled from one place to the next :)

Selfie at Melbourne Airport before heading off on our holiday

We had an almost-10pm flight out of Melbourne, so we had dinner at Melbourne Airport right after we checked-in.

Selfie of a man and woman, both wearing black t-shirts, backpacks, and face masks, standing in an airport terminal.

All set to fly from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi

Neither of us minds having seats near the bathroom and neither of us minds sitting right at the back of the plane, so we picked seats in the second-last row of this Boeing 777 since that row has just two seats on the window side :)

Selfie of a man and woman, both wearing black t-shirts and face masks, seated in an aircraft. The two are giving a thumbs-up to the camera.

Selfie along the C-gates arm at Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal A

Abu Dhabi Airport’s brand new Terminal A is quite roomy (having been built for future growth) and is a surprisingly comfortable place to hang out for a ten-hour layover.

Selfie of a man wearing a bright orange jacket standing in the middle of a long terminal corridor, between gates C28 and C29.

Selfie to celebrate our arrival at Karachi Airport

Yay Karachi!

Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing black t-shirts and face masks, standing next to their luggage at the international arrivals gate of an airport.

Ready for the first of our three flights back to Melbourne, this one from Islamabad to Karachi

It took us almost forty hours to get back from Islamabad to Melbourne (via Karachi and Abu Dhabi). This was the start of our first leg.

Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing black t-shirts and face masks, seated inside an aircraft cabin during boarding.

Ready for the second of our three flights back to Melbourne, this one from Karachi to Abu Dhabi

This was the start of our second leg, waiting in the international departure lounge.

Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing black t-shirts and face masks, seated in a departure lounge at an airport.

Waiting for breakfast at Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal A

This is towards the end of our twelve hour layover in Abu Dhabi.

Photo of a woman, wearing a black hoodie and face mask, leaning on a restaurant table in an airport. Behind her is a floor-to-ceiling window that looks out onto and airport terminal apron.

Selfie before boarding our flight to Melbourne

We’re making sure to stretch our legs and stand as much as we can before our non-stop, thirteen hour flight to Melbourne.

Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing black tops and face masks, standing in a departure lounge at an airport.

Ready for the third of our three flights back to Melbourne, this one from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne

All aboard and ready to boogie (aka sleep) on this lovely Boeing 787 (yay!).

Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing black t-shirts and face masks, seated inside an aircraft cabin during boarding.

We hadn’t been back to Pakistan since late 2019, so this trip was very much overdue and it was a great way to start the year.