Arrange the ride before you land. London and Ottawa disagree about hailing apps but agree completely about that.
Arrange it in advance
- Canada's advice is to make arrangements to be met at the airport, especially if arriving after dark. That is the one instruction both governments effectively share.
- A hotel car booked in advance is the least complicated version of this, and it removes the negotiation entirely.
Where the advice differs, honestly
- The FCDO says avoid street taxis, e-taxis and online taxi apps, and use only taxis from a reputable licensed company where you telephone the operator and the operator sends a driver.
- Canada says avoid public transport including taxis and trains, but if you must, use radio-controlled taxis from reputable companies and consider using taxi hailing apps in major cities.
- So the two disagree specifically about hailing apps. The common ground is: not a taxi you flag down in the street, and not an unbooked car at the kerb. An app at least records the driver, the vehicle and the route, which a street taxi does not; the FCDO's objection is that anyone can drive for one.
At the airport itself
- Airports are named as possible targets by both governments, so do not linger in the public landside hall. Meet your driver and go.
- Allow plenty of time on the way out. Baggage screening is thorough and terminals get crowded.
- Do not photograph the airport. British nationals have been arrested on suspicion of spying for photographing airports, military sites and infrastructure.
Karachi, specifically
- Canada advises against non-essential travel to the city of Karachi, but names exceptions where a high degree of caution is enough, and those exceptions explicitly include Jinnah International Airport and Shahrah-e-Faisal Road between the airport and the city.
- The FCDO does not advise against Karachi at all, only Sindh north of and including Nawabshah.
- Read that as a corridor rather than a contradiction. Both are describing the same road in and out of the airport as the part of Karachi you can reasonably be in.
Onward travel
- Avoid the railway network, which the FCDO says plainly because of terrorist attacks and derailments.
- Domestic flights to the northern mountains are frequently delayed or cancelled by weather. Have a plan B before you book a tight connection.
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