New Delhi: India and Pakistan on Friday extended bans on each other’s airlines from entering their airspace, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) in India and Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said in separate statements.
A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by MoCA stated that no aircraft registered in Pakistan, and operated, owned or leased by Pakistani airlines or operators, will be allowed to enter Indian airspace until June 23.
The Indian airspace ban also applies to Pakistani military aircraft.
Similarly, Islamabad has also barred all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines from entering Pakistan’s airspace until 4.59 am local time on June 24, as per the PAA statement.
It applies to “all aircraft registered, operated, owned, or leased by India”, including all Indian military aircraft, the statement said.
Pakistan had barred Indian airlines from using its airspace on April 24 in response to several punitive measures by the Indian government following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 innocent men on April 22.
Pakistan’s ban was until May 23, as airspace restrictions cannot be imposed for more than one month at a time as per International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rules, PTI reported.
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On April 30, India also closed its airspace for flights operated by Pakistan airlines.
The two neighbouring countries engaged in fierce military actions after Pakistan responded to India’s Operation Sindoor – targeting nine terror sites in Pakistan and PoK to avenge the Pahalgam massacre. Following fours days of hostilities, the two countries agreed to a ceasefire on May 10.
