Pakistan opens its airspace after 28 days of closure; flights for New Delhi will not operate

Flights for Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi will not operate due to security reasons, reports in Pakistan media said.

A Pakistan International Airline (PIA) plane taxis on the runway on the way to Saudi Arabia during the PIA employees strike in Islamabad on February 8, 2016. The strike continued despite Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's warning that the demonstration was illegal and those taking part could face up to a year in prison under a law that restricts union activity in state-administered sectors. AFP PHOTO / Farooq NAEEM (Photo by FAROOQ NAEEM / AFP)

New Delhi: Pakistan on Tuesday fully opened its airspace, nearly a month after complete shutdown following tensions with India in an aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, and the subsequent aerial strike by IAF on a training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Balakot. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Pakistan announced the complete opening of the country’s airspace, with the national carrier resuming its flights across the country. The country had partially resumed flight operations from Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta earlier this month. As per reports in Pakistani media, now flight operations from all airports for international and domestic routes will be resumed as per schedule, but transit flights will stay suspended. On Tuesday, two-way flights from Lahore to Islamabad and flights from Karachi to Multan departed as per schedule, said a statement issued by the national carrier - Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) - on Tuesday. Flights have also been resumed for Bahawalpur, Raheem Yar Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan. Flights from Sialkot will resume from March 28, after necessary repairs are carried out on the Sialkot airport runway, it said. As per Dawn news, a fresh notice issued to airmen  said that flight operations to and from airports in Pakistan shall remain available as per operation hours from Islamabad Inter­national Airport, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad and Multan. However, flights for Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi will not operate due to security reasons, it reported. Earlier in February, the CAA partially opened the country's airspace after keeping it closed for several hours following a rare aerial dogfight between Indian and Pakistani jets. The CAA had also declared an aerial emergency, saying Pakistani airspace is closed until further notice. Flights were suspended as Pakistan closed its airspace on February 27 for all international and domestic flights in the wake of IAF’s precision strikes. India and Pakistan were engaged in aerial tensions after the Pulwama terror attack which killed 40 CRPF soldiers in Kashmir. In the wake of the attack carried out by Pakistan based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed, Indian Air Force carried out anti-terror operation in Balakot and destroyed a JeM camp. Following this, Pakistani aircrafts violated Indian airspace and targeted military establishments here.