India extends airspace ban for Pakistan by another month

India has extended a ban on Pakistani airplanes from using its airspace by a month after Islamabad issued a fresh notice to airmen (Notam) for New Delhi. With their respective extensions, India and Pakistan have entered the sixth month of their airspaces being shut to one another.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack in April, tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad escalated, prompting Pakistan to close its airspace to Indian aircraft on April 24. Initially set for one month, the ban barred Indian airlines from overflying Pakistani territory.

In response, India imposed a similar restriction on April 30, blocking Pakistani aircraft from its airspace. Since then, both countries have continued to extend the closures through monthly NOTAMs. Notably, while Indian and Pakistani airlines are barred from each other’s airspace, both nations continue to allow overflights by international carriers.

Two days ago, Pakistan issued the airspace ban Notam to its airlines, just a little before it was set to expire on September 24. India will keep its airspace closed for Pakistani airlines till till 5:29 India time on October 24.

Have flights been affected?

With Pakistani airspace closed, around 800 weekly flights operated by Indian airlines have been impacted. These flights, which usually depart from North India to regions such as West Asia, the Caucasus, Europe, the UK, and eastern North America, are now forced to take longer alternate routes.

As a result, flight durations have increased, ranging from 15 minutes to several hours depending on the destination, leading to higher fuel consumption and added complexity in crew and flight scheduling. Together, these challenges are driving up operational costs for the airlines.

Meanwhile, India’s airspace closure to Pakistan has been largely insignificant to its airlines as the country’s main carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, operates very few flights to other countries as it continues to struggle financially.