Pakistan, India extend airspace ban on each other
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A poster paying tribute to Pakistan's armed forces displayed in a street in Rawalpindi on May 14.
PHOTO: AFP
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KARACHI – Pakistan and India’s aviation authorities said on May 23 that they would extend an airspace ban on each other’s airlines, after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades.
It comes a month after the deadly April 22 attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir
More than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery fire until a ceasefire was announced on May 10.
Pakistan had closed its airspace to Indian aircraft
“No flight operated by Indian airlines or operators will be allowed to use Pakistani airspace,” Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement, adding that the ban had been extended until the early morning of June 24.
“This ban will also apply to Indian military aircraft.”
India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation responded in kind, saying it “extends (the notice to airmen) for Pakistan flights for one month”, until June 23.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both countries, which have fought multiple wars over the Himalayan territory since their 1947 independence from Britain.
Pakistan’s decision to close its airspace to carriers from its neighbour has seen journeys from India to Central Asia, Europe and North America take up to two hours longer.
And the extra flying time may eventually make flights more expensive.
Indian government data shows that when Islamabad closed its airspace in 2019 – after New Delhi hit it with air strikes in response to an attack in Kashmir – domestic airlines saw a financial cost of nearly 5.5 billion rupees (S$82.9 million) during the nearly five-month-long shutdown. AFP
