India, Pakistan extend airspace closure for each other till Oct 24 

India has extended the closure of its airspace for Pakistani civilian and military planes. In a similar move, Pakistan has also kept its airspace closed for Indian aircraft. Both countries first closed their airspace to each other’s planes in April following the Pahalgam terror attack. This month marks the sixth month of reciprocal airspace restrictions, as reported by PTI.

According to India’s fresh Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued on September 23, Pakistan-registered planes and aircraft owned, operated, or leased by Pakistani airlines including military flights will not be allowed to enter Indian airspace. 

The restriction will last until 11:59 pm UTC on October 23, which is 5:30 am IST on October 24.

The airspace closures were first imposed after the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people.  India had initially closed its airspace for Pakistani planes starting April 30. 

Since then, both countries have been extending the bans on a monthly basis. The airspace closures have also caused significant disruptions for Indian airlines. 

With Pakistan’s airspace unavailable, around 800 weekly flights from North India to destinations in West Asia, the Caucasus, Europe, the UK, and eastern North America are forced to take longer routes. This leads to longer flight times ranging from 15 minutes to several hours depending on the destination, higher fuel consumption, and added challenges in crew and flight scheduling. These factors ultimately increase operational costs for Indian carriers.

For Pakistan, the impact of India’s airspace closure has been much smaller. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country’s main carrier, has a limited international network and is struggling compared to India’s growing aviation sector.

 According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, only about six PIA flights per week, mostly between Kuala Lumpur and Lahore or Islamabad, normally flew over Indian airspace. This adds further pressure to India’s aviation sector as the airspace closures continue.