Pakistan extends airspace ban on Indian flights till June 23

• Curbs apply to all Indian aircraft, including military planes: PAA.
• Says airspace ban on Indian flights was set to expire on May 24.
• PAA last extended airspace ban on Indian aircraft in April, 2026.
  

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has extended airspace restrictions on all Indian-owned or Indian-operated aircraft until June 23, according to a fresh Notice to Airmen (Notam) issued on Tuesday.

A spokesperson of the PAA said the restrictions apply with immediate effect to all Indian-registered aircraft, including commercial and military planes.

Aircraft leased by Indian airlines will also remain barred from using Pakistani airspace, it added.

The airspace ban on Indian flights was set to expire at 5am on May 24, 2026. The PAA last extended airspace ban for Indian aircraft in April, a move that has resulted in losses amounting to billions of rupees for Indian airlines.

Pakistan closed its airspace for Indian airlines in April last year in a tit-for-tat move after New Delhi suspended the critical Indus Water Treaty amid heightened bilateral tensions following the Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which New Delhi blames on Islamabad. Pakistan has rejected the allegations and also called for a transparent inquiry.

Following Pakistan's decision, India also shut its airspace to Pakistani airlines on April 30, last year.

After the Pahalgam attack, India, on May 6-7, 2025, launched unprovoked attacks on multiple Pakistani cities. In response, Pakistan's armed forces launched a large-scale retaliatory military action, "Operation Bunyanum Marsoos", and targeted several Indian military targets across multiple regions.

Pakistan downed eight Indian fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States.

While India's aviation industry has faced heavy losses, the impact on Pakistani aviation has been minimal.

This is not the first time Pakistan has imposed such restrictions. Airspace closures were previously enacted during the 1999 Kargil conflict and the 2019 Pulwama crisis, both instances in which India faced greater aviation disruptions than Pakistan.