Pahalgam terror attack: India shuts airspace for Pakistan-run flights, military aircraft; PIA to be hit

India on Wednesday night issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) restricting its airspace for all aircraft registered, operated or leased by Pakistan. This includes commercial airlines and military flights, as per the Ministry of Civil Aviation. 

The airspace closure will be effective from April 30 to May 23, 2025. The closure impacts all Pakistani-registered and operated aircraft across all Indian Flight Information Regions -- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata.

Notably, Pakistani airlines have already started avoiding Indian airspace due to concerns of possible retaliation after the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam attack. With India now closing its airspace for Pakistani flights, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be adversely affected.

Impact on Pakistani airlines

Pakistani airlines including the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will have to take longer routes through China and Sri Lanka to reach Southeast destinations like Kuala Lumpur. Other than Kuala Lumpur, the routes that are the most affected include Bangkok, Guangzhou, Sydney, and Melbourne.

While Pakistani flights to Bangkok often pass over northern India, the flights to Guangzhou typically use eastern Indian airspace. The Pakistani flights to Sydney and Melbourne generally overfly central and southern India.

The Indian airspace closure would lead to increased fuel costs due to longer flight paths, extended flight durations, as well as challenges related to crew scheduling and aircraft rotations.

All of this combined can strain PIA's financial resources as the airline is working to rebuild its international network. At present, the PIA operates international flights to 33 cities in 14 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the UK, Canada, Oman, Qatar, China, Malaysia, and Turkey. 

Its primary routes are the Middle East, Europe, and North America, with hubs in Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore. 

Tit-for-tat move after Pakistan closed its airspace

India's decision comes after Pakistan's earlier decision to ban Indian airlines from its airspace after the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan's decision to close its airspace for Indian airspace starting today will affect over 800 international flights operated by Indian airlines each week.

Airlines operating international flights from northern Indian cities will face weekly additional expenses worth around ₹77 crore. While India will face some impact of the Pakistani airspace closure, Pakistan seems to have shot itself in the foot. 

As per an X user, Pakistan lost overflight fees from the third-largest and fastest-growing aviation market in the world. 

"Pakistan loses 'overflight fees' from the 3rd largest (and fastest growing) aviation market in the world. That's easily hundreds of millions of USD every year. Never in the history of mankind has there been so much collective stupidity in a land," the X user wrote.

He further explained that the large number of flights from India, especially those towards Europe and North America, implied that blocking Indian carriers could be very costly for Pakistan.

On April 22, 5-6 terrorists opened fire on civilians, killing 26 people, mostly tourists.