Pakistan has extended the closure of its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines until 4:59 a.m. local time on June 24, reports news agency Reuters quoting the Pakistan Airports Authority in a statement on Friday.
The extension follows the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rules that restrict such closure for a month at a time. “The ban on Indian aircraft flying over Pakistan airspace has been extended until 4:59 am June 24, 2025,” the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said in a statement.
All the flights that are Indian-registered, owned or leased will remain subject to the ban, the PAA said.
“This ban will also apply to Indian military aircraft. No flight operated by Indian airlines or operators will be allowed to use Pakistani airspace,” the statement said.
According to the directive, no flight operated by the Indian airlines or operators will be allowed to enter or transit through Pakistani airspace, the PAA added further.
Pakistan had banned its airspace for India last month after steps taken by New Delhi in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed 26 people. The ban was imposed for a month until May 23, as under International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rules, airspace restrictions cannot be imposed for more than one month at a time.
The extension of closure of airspace by a month comes two days after an IndiGo pilot operating the Delhi-Srinagar flight, which encountered a sudden hailstorm on Wednesday, initially sought Lahore Air Traffic Control's permission to briefly use the Pakistan airspace to avoid the turbulence, but the request was rejected.
India Extends NOTAM For Pak Flights
India has also extended NOTAM for Pakistan flights for one month. It will remain in effect till June 23, 2025. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said that the NOTAM has been extended.
"The NOTAM has been extended. We have maintained the status quo…,” said Naidu.
"For the time being, on grounds of national security, we've removed the Turkish players from ground handling services, cargo services...we are not seeing any problem in the operations. We are going to take guidance from the security agencies in this regard…,” he further added.
(With inputs from PTI.)