By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan extended the closure of its airspace to Indian aircraft by another month, to Nov. 24, prolonging a ban that has forced Indian carriers onto longer and costlier routes since April 2025.
The Pakistan Airports Authority issued a Notice to Airmen, or Notam, that took effect at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday and runs until 4:59 a.m. on Nov. 24, 2026. The previous extension, issued in mid-September, was due to expire on Oct. 24, so the latest order came about a week early.
The restriction covers Indian-registered aircraft and any aircraft owned, operated or leased by Indian airlines or operators, military flights included. The Notam describes Pakistani airspace as “not available” to those aircraft. It applies to both the Karachi (OPKR) and Lahore (OPLR) flight information regions, the two zones into which Pakistan divides its airspace, according to a 2022 document from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority.
Pakistan first closed its airspace to Indian carriers on April 24, 2025. That was two days after the Pahalgam attack in Indian-occupied Kashmir, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists. New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing the attack. Pakistan denied any involvement and offered a neutral investigation. India shut its own airspace to Pakistani aircraft from April 30, and both sides have since renewed their restrictions on a rolling basis.
The dispute escalated into the most serious military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbours in years. India launched strikes on nine civilian sites in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir on May 7, and a ceasefire took hold on May 10. Pakistan has said it shot down seven Indian fighter jets during the fighting. Pakistan has extended the airspace ban repeatedly since then.
The cost falls most heavily on Air India, the only Indian carrier with a major international network. Its fuel costs rose by as much as 29% and journey times by up to three hours on some long-haul routes, according to a document submitted to Indian officials in October 2025. The airline, owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, put the annual hit to its pre-tax profit at $455 million. That is a large sum against its fiscal 2024-25 loss of $439 million.
Early in the dispute, Air India told the government in a letter that it expected about $600 million in extra costs if the ban lasted a year, and asked for compensation. It later lobbied New Delhi to persuade China to open a sensitive military airspace zone in Xinjiang to shorten its routes, according to a November report.
Other Indian carriers have also had to adjust. IndiGo suspended flights to Tashkent and Almaty because rerouting put them beyond the range of its narrow-body jets. Services between India and Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia have generally taken longer and burned more fuel since the closure.
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