New Delhi: Pakistan has decided to keep its airspace on the eastern border with India closed till 14 June, a spokesperson for the country’s Civil Aviation Authority told Reuters Wednesday.
The development is bad news for Indian commercial airlines operating flights from Europe and other countries as they have been taking costly detours due to the ban.
The two countries had closed their respective airspace after the Indian air strike on Balakot on 26 February and the retaliation by Pakistan the next day.
Although India opened its airports in some hours, Pakistan’s partial closure of its airspace has been in place for over three months now. Pakistan allows its airspace only for flights to connecting cities in the country.
In the wake of the airspace closure, flights across the world have had to face long overhauls, rerouted destinations and many cancellations.
Air India among airlines hit
Among the Indian airlines, Air India had the maximum number of international flights to the US and Europe, a majority of which flew over Pakistan.
Since the Pakistani airspace ban, Air India has had to cancel six of its international flights due to “operational reasons”. They include the Delhi-Madrid, Madrid-Delhi, Delhi-Birmingham, Birmingham-Delhi and Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham and Birmingham-Amritsar-Delhi flights.
SpiceJet has cancelled its Delhi-Dubai flight, which flew over Pakistan, since 27 February.
There is also no cheap direct flight between Delhi and Kabul. The otherwise two-and-a-half-hour journey takes a maximum of 20 hours while non-stop flights cost over Rs 50,000, three times the price before the closure.
The Pakistani ban was expected to last until the end of May.
Also read: Pakistani airspace closure continues to affect world’s flights, Air India worst-hit
Air space BAN Is for ALL countries not just Air India , don’t misinform
Just read The Hindu’s edit on the foreign dignitaries invited for the swearing in. BIMSTEC is going nowhere in a hurry. SCO is yet to prove its utility. So much simpler to start talking to Pakistan, trying to make a success of SAARC.