Pakistan has seven airports that matter for inbound transfers and they are not interchangeable. Islamabad is 25 km out and takes the long-haul traffic. Multan is four kilometres from its city centre and is the shortest transfer in the country. Skardu is the one where the aircraft frequently does not arrive at all. Planning a transfer starts with knowing which kind of airport you are landing at.
The seven, and what each is like
- Islamabad (ISB) — 25 km southwest of Islamabad and 25 km from Rawalpindi Saddar. One modular terminal of 180,000 square metres, forty-two immigration counters, about 6.8 million passengers a year. Hub for PIA and SereneAir and the country’s main long-haul gateway.
- Lahore (LHE) — 15 km from the centre, on the eastern side, so DHA and Cantt are near and the Walled City is far. Three terminals including a separate Hajj terminal. About 6.0 million passengers.
- Karachi (KHI) — one terminal with an international concourse and a domestic concourse, no inter-terminal transfer. About 6.7 million passengers. Almost every transfer runs the length of Shahrah-e-Faisal.
- Peshawar (PEW) — inside the cantonment, ten to twenty minutes from most of the city. Around three-quarters of flights are international, so arrivals are Gulf-heavy and luggage-heavy.
- Multan (MUX) — four kilometres west of the city. Winter fog closes it outright often enough that a road contingency is a real requirement, not a courtesy.
- Sialkot (SKT) — Pakistan’s only privately owned airport, hub of AirSial, 14 km west of Sialkot. Its catchment is a region rather than a city, covering Gujranwala, Gujrat, Wazirabad and Azad Kashmir.
- Skardu (KDU) — 9.2 km from Skardu at around 7,316 feet. Visual flight rules only, so cancellations are common outside summer and the road is the fallback.
The problem nobody warns you about
Three things are true at every Pakistani airport. There are no tourist SIM counters in arrivals, so the phone that worked at your departure gate has no data when you land. Airport cash machines frequently decline foreign cards. And the app-based options that look obvious from home need both of those before a car will come.
That combination is why pre-booking is not a luxury purchase here in the way it might be at Heathrow or Dubai. A driver waiting inside arrivals with your name works without a local number, without data and without rupees. We meet passengers inside the terminal, and the driver’s photograph and the vehicle registration are sent to you before the car arrives.
What the airports themselves say about fares
Very little, and that is the point. Islamabad’s official airport website publishes no fares at all, lists three cab operators working the terminal, and advises passengers to bargain and agree a fare before the journey starts. Lahore’s transport page explicitly disclaims setting fares. Karachi has three official counters outside arrivals, White Cars, Metro Cars and Airport Taxis, and travel sources put them at roughly Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,200 by district, against Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,500 for the apps, though those figures are undated and indicative.
There is no prepaid meter and no published public tariff anywhere in the country. Whatever you pay at a Pakistani airport is what you negotiated, unless you agreed it in advance.
Luggage is the question, not seats
The most common mistake in booking a Pakistani airport transfer is counting people. A seven-seat SUV carries seven people or five people’s luggage, not both, because the third row takes the boot. A family of six returning from Jeddah or Dubai with full checked baggage is a Grand Cabin booking, sold as thirteen passengers plus a driver. Tell us the number of cases and we will size the vehicle to them.
Send the flight number
Give us the flight number and scheduled arrival time with your request. It lets the pickup be planned against the actual schedule, and for Multan and Skardu in particular it tells us where to look if the aircraft goes somewhere else.
Tell us the journey and we will price it. A submitted request is not a booking until availability, price and terms are confirmed.
Which vehicle actually fits
Seat counts are the manufacturer figures. The passenger and luggage numbers beside them are what the vehicle carries in practice, with the cases people really travel with. If your party is near the limit, tell us the number of bags rather than the number of people, because that is what decides it.
- Suzuki WagonR 3 passengers, 2 cases Short city transfers on a budget. The tall boot helps more than the engine does.
- Toyota Yaris or Corolla 3 to 4 passengers, 2 to 3 large cases The workhorse. City work, airport transfers and the motorway run between Lahore and Islamabad.
- Honda BR-V 5 passengers with luggage, or 7 with almost none Family airport transfers on paved routes. The third row eats the boot, so it suits children or short hops rather than seven adults with cases. Not a mountain vehicle.
- Toyota Fortuner 5 passengers with full luggage, 7 travelling light Rough road and mountain work: Skardu, Hunza, Naran, Babusar. Ask for the diesel four-wheel-drive, because the petrol version is two-wheel-drive.
- Toyota Land Cruiser 4 to 5 passengers with full luggage Protocol and expedition work, and a genuine choice for Skardu and Deosai. It returns 5 to 10 km a litre, which at Rs 343 a litre is the honest reason it costs what it costs.
- Toyota Hiace Grand Cabin 13 passengers plus the driver The group and family vehicle. Gulf arrivals into Sialkot and Peshawar with heavy luggage, tour groups, weddings, long intercity runs.
- Toyota Coaster 25 to 29 passengers with hold luggage Large groups, corporate shuttles and pilgrimage travel. Worth knowing that the motorway toll alone is Rs 3,350 each way against Rs 1,430 for a car.
How booking works
- 01 Tell us the journey Where from, where to, when, how many of you and how much luggage. Precise addresses matter more than you would think, because a Rawalpindi address and an Islamabad address twenty minutes apart are very different journeys.
- 02 We quote a fixed price One figure for the whole journey, with the vehicle class it assumes. If a motorway toll or a waiting period is part of it, you see that too.
- 03 You see the driver and the car Before the journey you get the driver photograph and the vehicle registration, so you know exactly who and what you are looking for.
- 04 You travel At an airport your driver waits inside arrivals with a name sign. Check the photograph and the registration plate against what we sent you before you get in.
Frequently asked questions
Which airports do you cover?
Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Multan, Sialkot and Skardu.
Where will the driver meet me?
Inside arrivals, with your name. That is deliberate: you should not need a local SIM, mobile data or rupees to find your car.
Is there a fixed airport taxi fare in Pakistan?
No. There is no prepaid meter and no published public tariff at any Pakistani airport. Islamabad’s own airport website advises passengers to agree a fare before setting off.
Will my phone work when I land?
Not for data. There are no tourist SIM counters in arrivals and airport cash machines often decline foreign cards.
How much luggage can you take?
Tell us the number of cases rather than the number of passengers. A seven-seat vehicle loses most of its boot to the third row, so a large family with full baggage needs a van.
Can you meet a very late or very early flight?
Yes. Much of Pakistan’s international traffic lands overnight, particularly at Sialkot, Peshawar and Multan.
What if my flight is delayed or diverted?
Send the flight number with your request so we know which service to watch. For Multan in fog season and Skardu in any season, tell us in advance where you would want to be taken if the aircraft goes elsewhere.
Do you do departures as well as arrivals?
Yes. For a departure, tell us the check-in time you want to make rather than the flight time, and we will work the pickup back from it.
Can the transfer continue as an intercity journey?
Yes, and it is often the better plan. An arrival at Islamabad continuing to Murree or Lahore is one movement, not two bookings.
Do you use Uber or Careem drivers?
Neither operates ride-hailing in Pakistan. Uber left on 30 April 2024 and Careem suspended ride-hailing on 18 July 2025.
How do I know who is collecting me?
The driver’s photograph and the vehicle registration are sent to you before pickup.
Is the price fixed?
Yes, once quoted and accepted, for the journey as described.
Tell us the journey and we will price it
Send the route, the date, the number of travelling and how many cases you have. You will get one price for the whole journey and the vehicle class it assumes. If we cannot cover it properly we will say so rather than take the booking.