• Source:JND
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Pakistan has extended the closure of its airspace for Indian aircraft and airlines by another month, with the ban now set to remain in place until 5:29 am IST on July 24. The decision, communicated through a fresh Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) on Monday, comes amid ongoing tensions between the two nations following the April Pahalgam terror attack.

The restriction was initially imposed on April 24, when Pakistan closed its skies to all Indian aircraft including those operated by Indian carriers for a month. India responded on April 30 by closing its own airspace to Pakistani aircraft and airlines. Both countries later extended the bans on May 23, pushing the deadline to June 24. With Monday’s update, Pakistan has continued the closure, maintaining the same restrictions but altering the effective period.

The move has had a significant operational impact on Indian carriers. Roughly 800 flights a week are now forced to take detours, resulting in increased flight times, higher fuel consumption, and added complexities in crew and aircraft scheduling. Routes from North India to the Middle East, Europe, the UK, and parts of North America now take longer, with the deviation adding anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours, depending on the destination.

Several major Indian carriers are affected. Air India operates numerous long-haul flights to the West, including Europe and North America. IndiGo, which flies to West Asia, Turkey, and Central Asia, has been forced to suspend its services to Almaty and Tashkent as these destinations now fall beyond the range of its narrow-body aircraft. Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air primarily serving West Asian routes are also rerouting flights.

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Aviation analytics firm Cirium reports that nearly 400 international flights per week from North Indian airports Delhi, Jaipur, Amritsar, and Lucknow were previously flying over Pakistani airspace. Since each of these flights has a return leg, the number of impacted journeys doubles to about 800 weekly. Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, being the busiest hub, accounts for approximately 640 of these flights, making it the most affected.

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Flights from other cities, such as Mumbai, especially ultra-long-haul ones, are also facing disruptions due to route adjustments. The ongoing airspace restrictions are similar to the situation in 2019, when Pakistan had closed its airspace for over four months. Indian airlines had reportedly incurred losses of around Rs 700 crore then, with Air India being the worst hit due to its higher number of west-bound operations. 

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