Pakistan keeps its Airspace shut till March 4, four Airports Partially opened but Airlines avoid Operations

The Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan (CAA), stricken with panic, said in a new NOTAM (Notice to aviators) that the country’s airspace will be closed until March 4. However, exceptions have been made for round trip operations from four international airports. namely, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad that would operate with restrictions.

“Flight operations only from / to Karachi International, Peshawar International, Quetta International and Islamabad airports with restricted entry / exit will be available below,” the new circular said.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan (CAA) said on Friday morning that it would announce its decision on the restoration of Pakistani airspace soon. The authority tweeted that the decision will be made shortly after the expiration of existing NOTAMs.

Although reports say that Pakistan has partially reopened the flight operations of some of the airports, according to the live flight tracking website Flightradar24, no civil aircraft has operated in the country today. The airspace seems completely empty on the website, and data from the four airports show that no flights landed or took off today. It seems that the airlines have decided to stay away from Pakistan for the time being, even if the authorities have allowed limited operations at four airports.

Previously, Pakistan had closed all its airports and its airspace, after India responded gallantly to the audacious violation of Pakistan’s air force into Indian airspace in the Jammu and Kashmir sectors in Poonch and Nowshera. Pakistan had lost one of its fighter jets, F16 in the crash, while an Indian MiG-21 aircraft was also lost and the pilot was captured by the Pakistani army.

Pakistan, for fear of escalation, immediately stopped its domestic and international flights operations from the airports of Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad. International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace were also affected. Due to the closure of Pakistani airspace, international flights that generally fly over the nations had to be diverted, most of them flying south over the Arabian Sea, while some of them went to northern Pakistan over China.

Although the closure of Pakistan’s airspace has disrupted major routes between Europe and Southeast Asia and the Middle East, which could leave Pakistan stunned are reports confirming that China, Pakistan’s ally at all times, has decided to cancel all the flights to and from Pakistan. and diverted its international plane over the Pakistani airspace. On Wednesday, when the airspace was closed, several flights scheduled to fly over Pakistan either returned to the station of origin or diverted to avoid Pakistani airspace. After that, normal flight operations pass through Pakistan.

China has allowed foreign airlines to use their airspace as an alternative route. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) presented a contingency plan for domestic and foreign airlines to use Chinese airspace to divert flights using Pakistani airspace.

Lately, he also confirmed that the closure of the Pakistani airspace has affected almost 400 flights and that the greatest impact of the closure of the airspace has been felt by Iran.

The growing tension between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama attack, followed by India’s retaliation in the form of an air strike, then its adequate response to the Pakistani army’s breach of Indian airspace, has left Pakistan fragmented and nervous. Pakistan has been desperately trying to get India to slow down, but India has been absolutely firm, as this time Pakistan takes reliable measures to eliminate the terrorism that is breeding on its territory or the reward for every drop of blood that India He has lost fighting against terrorism.