Pakistan has extended its ban on Indian aircraft using its airspace until November 24, under a fresh notice issued by the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA).
A PAA spokesperson said the new Notice to Airmen (Notam) would remain in effect until 5am on November 24. The restriction applies to Indian aircraft passing through Pakistani airspace and continues a ban that has been in place since last year.
Pakistan first closed its airspace to Indian aircraft on April 23, 2025, amid a sharp rise in tensions between the two neighbouring countries after the Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. India accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack, an allegation Islamabad firmly denied while calling for an independent and transparent investigation.
India responded to Pakistan’s move by closing its own airspace to Pakistani airlines on April 30, 2025. Tensions climbed further when India launched strikes on several Pakistani cities on May 6 and 7, 2025. Pakistan answered with a large-scale retaliatory operation, Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, aimed at Indian military installations. The confrontation lasted nearly 87 hours before the two nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a United States-brokered ceasefire on May 10, 2025.
Pakistan has said the airspace restrictions have weighed more heavily on India’s aviation sector, while disruption to its own aviation industry has been comparatively limited. Longer routings around Pakistani airspace add flight time and fuel costs for Indian carriers on several international routes.
Pakistan has imposed similar airspace restrictions during earlier crises, including the 1999 Kargil conflict and the 2019 Pulwama crisis. Those episodes also created greater operational difficulties for Indian airlines than for Pakistani carriers, according to Pakistani officials.
The latest extension keeps the restriction in force for another month, signalling that aviation ties between the two countries remain frozen despite the ceasefire that ended open hostilities last year.
