Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has extended the closure of the country’s airspace to Indian aircraft for another month, with restrictions now set to remain in place until March 23, according to a fresh Notice to Airmen (NOTAM).
The latest NOTAM applies to both of Pakistan’s Flight Information Regions (FIRs) Karachi (OPKR) and Lahore (OPLR), as outlined in official civil aviation documentation. Pakistan’s airspace is divided into two FIRs managed by national aviation authorities.
The airspace restrictions were initially imposed after New Delhi suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following the deadly Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). In response, Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian carriers.
India subsequently barred Pakistani airlines from its own airspace on April 30, triggering reciprocal aviation restrictions that continue to disrupt regional and international flight operations.
Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors escalated sharply in early May 2025. India carried out strikes on multiple Pakistani cities during the nights of May 6 and 7. Pakistan’s armed forces responded with a large-scale retaliatory operation, Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, targeting several Indian military installations across different regions.
Hostilities lasted nearly 87 hours before a ceasefire was reached on May 10, reportedly with mediation from the United States.
In contrast, Pakistan’s aviation sector has faced comparatively limited disruption due to fewer overflight dependencies on Indian airspace.
The continuation of the restrictions signals that despite the ceasefire, broader diplomatic and security tensions between the two countries remain unresolved.
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.
