RAWALPINDI: Pakistan reopened its airspace for all types of flights on Saturday as tensions eased with India following a ceasefire agreement.
The two neighbouring nations closed their airspaces multiple times since Wednesday, when India launched missiles into Pakistan, triggering a series of hostilities.
On Saturday evening, the Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) announced that the airspace has been fully restored for all types of flights and issued a fresh notice to airmen (NOTAM).
“All airports in the country are available for normal flight operations,” a spokesman for PAA said. He requested passengers to contact the airline for the latest flight schedule.
However, the normalisation of flight operations is expected to take time as passenger aircraft and other equipment were shifted to safe locations as a precaution during escalating tensions between Pakistan and India.
Officials have said the aircraft are being brought back to the operational area for routine operations.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has also resumed flight operations following the reopening of the airspace.
The national carrier’s flight PK750, coming from Paris to Islamabad, which was diverted and landed in Quetta early on Saturday, will return to its original destination at 9pm, said PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan.
Other operations of PIA would also resume from 10pm and all grounded or delayed flights would become operational, he said.
Passengers who had returned to their homes or hotels are being contacted to return to the airport. “We apologise for the inconvenience caused to passengers due to the air closures and affected flight operations, but caution was necessary given the circumstances,” the statement added.
The disruption of flight operations for days stranded hundreds of travellers in Pakistan and abroad.
Earlier, Pakistan had closed the airspace to all flights from 3:15am to 12pm and extended the closure till Sunday noon.
The action was taken after India targeted PAF bases in Rawalpindi, Chakwal and Shorkot. The military said all Air Force assets remained safe in the attack before Pakistan launched it operation in retaliation.
On Friday, India had closed 32 airports across northern and western regions, including Srinagar and Amritsar, for civilian flight operations till May 15.
As tensions escalated, several global carriers, including Air France and Germany’s Lufthansa, cancelled or rerouted flights crossing Pakistan’s airspace.
Last month, Pakistan closed its airspace for Indian airlines, as it retaliated against New Delhi’s slew of aggressive measures against the country in the wake of a deadly attack in Pahalgam.
Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2025