Pakistan has once again extended its ban on Indian airlines and aircraft registered in India from traversing its airspace, prolonging a restriction that has now been in effect for almost a full year. The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) issued a fresh Notice to Airmen (Notam), confirming that Indian-registered planes will continue to be barred from using Pakistani airspace until April 24. This latest extension underscores the persistent strain in relations between the two neighboring countries, with aviation ties remaining severely disrupted.
It is worth noting that Pakistan initially closed its airspace to Indian flights on April 23, 2025. This decision was taken in response to New Delhi’s suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, a critical bilateral agreement, following the tragic Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The move to restrict airspace access has had significant financial repercussions, with Indian airlines reportedly incurring losses amounting to billions of rupees due to longer flight routes and operational challenges.
Meanwhile, India retaliated by shutting its own airspace to Pakistani carriers starting April 30, 2025, further escalating the aviation standoff. The situation deteriorated rapidly when India launched unprovoked military strikes on multiple Pakistani cities between May 6 and 7, 2025. In response, Pakistan’s armed forces initiated a large-scale counteroffensive dubbed “Operation Bunyanum Marsoos,” targeting numerous Indian military installations across various regions. During this intense conflict, Pakistan successfully downed seven Indian fighter jets, including three advanced Rafale aircraft, along with dozens of drones.
The hostilities between these two nuclear-armed neighbors lasted for at least 87 hours before coming to a halt on May 10, 2025, following a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States. Despite the severity of the conflict, the aviation sector in Pakistan has experienced relatively minor disruptions compared to the considerable setbacks faced by the Indian aviation industry. Historically, Pakistan’s airspace closures have tended to impact Indian airlines more profoundly, as seen during previous crises such as the 1999 Kargil conflict and the 2019 Pulwama incident.
In a related development, experts suggest that the ongoing airspace restrictions reflect broader geopolitical tensions that continue to hamper efforts at normalization between the two countries. Aviation analysts warn that unless diplomatic channels are reopened and trust rebuilt, these bans could remain in place indefinitely, further straining economic and people-to-people ties. For now, the extension of the ban until April 24 signals that the current impasse shows little sign of abating in the near future.
