Pakistan has extended its ban on Indian airlines and aircraft from using its airspace for another month, until the early morning of December 24, according to a new NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) issued by its aviation authority. India is also expected to extend its own ban on Pakistani airlines and aircraft for the same duration. With this, both countries will complete eight months of mutual airspace restrictions.
The latest NOTAM from Pakistan is the same as the previous ones, except for the new end date. Pakistani airspace will remain closed for all Indian civilian and military aircraft until 5:29 AM (India time) on December 24.
These restrictions began after ties between India and Pakistan worsened following the Pahalgam terror attack in April. Pakistan first closed its airspace on April 24 for a month, blocking Indian aircraft from flying over its territory. India responded on April 30 with a similar ban on Pakistani aircraft. Since then, both nations have continued extending these bans month after month through updated NOTAMs.
Although Indian and Pakistani aircraft cannot enter each other’s airspace, both countries still allow airlines from other nations to fly over their territories. Pakistan issued its latest NOTAM a few days before the earlier one was set to expire on November 24. India’s current ban also ends on November 24, and authorities are expected to release a fresh NOTAM soon to extend it for another month.
Pakistan’s airspace closure has affected nearly 800 weekly flights operated by Indian airlines. Routes from North India to West Asia, Europe, the UK, the Caucasus and eastern North America now require longer detours. As a result, flight times have increased—from 15 minutes to several hours—fuel usage has gone up, crew scheduling has become more complicated, and overall operational costs have risen sharply.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that Air India is urging the Indian government to seek China’s permission to use a sensitive military airspace zone in Xinjiang. Access to this route could help reduce the heavy financial burden caused by the airspace restrictions. The airline expects annual losses of nearly Rs 4,000 crore if the current situation continues.
India’s airspace ban has caused far less disruption for Pakistan. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has a small international network and is already struggling, so the restrictions have had minimal impact compared to the challenges faced by Indian carriers.
