Pakistan Bans Indian Airlines From Airspace Amid Escalating Kashmir Tensions
- Passengers are facing delays and longer flights between India and Europe and the Middle East after Pakistan suddenly shuttered its airspace to Indian owned airlines.
Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan have long been strained, but for the past few years, the underlying tension has been pretty mooted – that, however, has now changed following a militant attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday that claimed at least 26 innocent lives.
India has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to stop heavily armed militants from carrying out the attack in its territory, and a major diplomatic rift has opened up between the two controls.
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s arrack, New Delhi quickly imposed measures against Pakistan, and Islamabad has now responded with its own set of measures designed to exert diplomatic pressure on India.
One of those measures has involved the immediate closure of Pakistani airspace to any Indian-owned or based airline. The closure was announced in a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) that came into force on April 24 and is currently in effect until May 23 – although that is, of course, subject to change.
Major Indian carriers such as Air India and IndiGo have already warned that the restrictions could have a major effect on flight schedules, lengthening westward bound flights to Europe and the Middle East, which routinely fly through Pakistani airspace.
Flights from New Delhi will be particularly affected and will be forced to fly southward, away from their intended destinations, to avoid Pakistani airspace.
For now, the restrictions only apply to Indian airlines, so foreign carriers flying to and from India will still be able to use the most optimal route, which could see them utilizing Pakistani airspace.
How long the airspace could be closed is a question to which no one knows the answer at the moment. The last time that Pakistan added airspace restrictions to flights to and from India was back in 2019. On that occasion, the closure lasted for nearly five months.
