Pakistan airspace goes quiet as global airlines bypass it, entrepreneur warns: 'Forex loss will be...'

Pakistan's airspace is thinning out rapidly as not only Indian carriers but also global airlines reroute flights amid rising tensions with New Delhi — and with each passing day, Islamabad is bleeding valuable foreign exchange.

Highlighting the economic fallout, Rajeev Mantri, founder and managing director of venture capital firm Navam Capital, said Pakistan's move to block Indian airlines would hit its already fragile economy hard.

"Loss of overflight fees will be a very meaningful forex loss for a forex starved country like Pakistan which has no export competitive industries at all and is always on the edge," Mantri wrote on X. "India should further tighten the screws wherever possible. Don’t spare this rogue terrorist military-controlled entity that calls itself a nation."

Mantri's remarks came in response to a journalist's post showing live flight radar data, with fewer and fewer aircraft flying over Pakistani territory. The visual change comes as Indian airlines, including Air India and IndiGo, shift flight paths to avoid Pakistani airspace, resulting in longer routes and higher operating costs — but a far steeper loss for Islamabad in terms of aviation revenue. 

Entrepreneur Arun Pudur, in a tweet on May 5, said that global airlines were  avoiding "Pakistan like the plague". He claimed that barely 15 flights were now using Pakistani airspace. "Top airlines — Air France, BA, Emirates, Lufthansa — are avoiding it. Huge blow to Islamabad's forex from overflight fees worth hundreds of millions. In the battle of skies, India soars. Pakistan sinks again!"

Overflight fees from Indian carriers — part of the third-largest and fastest-growing aviation market in the world — were a crucial income stream for Pakistan.

After Pakistan cloased its airspace for the Indian airlines, a Pakistani user posted a video showing an Indian flight taking a circuitous route, with the caption, “Aur lo Panga.” 

However, an Indian pointed out the economic cost for the Pakistan for what he described as "collective stupidity". "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,” said Naren Menon. 

When challenged on whether Pakistan still earns from foreign airlines, Menon noted that the majority of west-bound flights from India are operated by Indian carriers — making Pakistan's revenue loss significant and immediate.

This is similar to what happened in 2019 when Pakistan closed its airspace after India retaliated to the Pulwama terror attack. An analysis by Hindustan Times reported nearly $100 million in losses during that period. Around 400 flights were diverted daily, leading to estimated daily losses of $232,000 from overflight charges alone, and a combined $760,000 per day when including terminal navigation, parking, and PIA's international route disruptions.

Moody's, an international credit rating agency, has warned that any conflict with India would damage Pakistan's economic recovery. In its report, Moody’s said, "Sustained escalation in tensions with India would likely weigh on Pakistan’s growth and hamper the government’s ongoing fiscal consolidation, setting back Pakistan’s progress in achieving macroeconomic stability."

The rating agency stated that if the standoff persists, it would harm Pakistan's access to foreign funds and strain its foreign currency reserves. This would potentially make it more difficult for Pakistan to meet its international debt obligations.