The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has issued a notice to airmen (Notam) extending the airspace ban for Indian aircraft till December 24, it emerged on Thursday.
The new ban for Indian aircraft has been notified just four days before a previous one is set to expire.
India and Pakistan have closed their airspaces to each other’s airlines since tensions between them escalated in late April in the wake of an attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people. Islamabad most recently extended the airspace ban in mid-October till November 24.
The latest restriction went into effect from 2:50pm Pakistan time on November 19 (yesterday) to 4:59am on December 24, according to a Notam issued on Wednesday.
The bar will apply to all Indian-registered aircraft as well as any aircraft operated, owned, or leased by Indian airlines or operators, including military flights. The airspace closure applies from ground level up to unlimited altitude.
Pakistan’s airspace is divided into two flight information regions (FIRs) — Karachi and Lahore, according to a Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) document from 2022. The Notam applies to both the Karachi (OPKR) and Lahore (OPLR) FIRs.
On April 24, in response to India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty after the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan had announced a series of measures, including the closure of its airspace to all India-owned or Indian-operated airlines.
New Delhi, without evidence, had alleged that Islamabad backed the attack. Pakistan strongly denied any involvement and offered a neutral probe. Then, in early May, the nuclear-armed nations fought their fiercest military conflict in decades. Pakistan says it downed seven Indian jets during the conflict.
Financial toll from Pakistan ban
Amid a financial toll from a ban on Indian carriers flying over Pakistan mounts, Air India is lobbying the Indian government to convince China to let it use a sensitive military airspace zone in Xinjiang to shorten routes.
For Air India, the country’s only carrier with a major international network, fuel costs have risen by as much as 29 per cent and journey times by up to three hours on some long-haul routes, Reuters reported, citing a document submitted to Indian officials in late October.
The airline, owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, estimated the Pakistan airspace closure’s impact on its profit before tax at $455 million annually — a significant amount given its fiscal 2024-25 loss stood at $439m.
Other Indian airlines, including IndiGo, also face higher fuel costs and longer journey times as they reroute international flights. On the other hand, the PAA also reported a shortfall of Rs4.1 billion in August, just over two months after closing its airspace to Indian-registered aircraft.
