The Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) on Sunday said flight operations at Islamabad airport will be suspended for two hours on March 17 instead of March 16.

Earlier in the day, the PAA said its previous notice to airmen (Notam) about the brief suspension of flight operations at Islamabad airport on March 16 was cancelled.

“The earlier Notam regarding temporary airspace restrictions in the Lahore flight information region (FIR) and suspension of flight operations at Islamabad International Airport on 16 March (08:30am - 10:30am PKT) has been cancelled,” the PAA said on X.

“Normal operations will continue,” it clarified.

In a later Notam, the PAA said arrival and departure operations at the Islamabad airport would remain closed from 08:30am to 10:30am PKT on March 17 (Tuesday) instead.

The Notam again cited “operational reasons” and advised arriving aircraft to “bring sufficient holding fuel to cater for delay”. The route segments that would be closed and other specifications remained the same as the previous Notam.

The PAA specified segments of air traffic service (ATS) routes within the Lahore FIR that would not be available from ground to flight level 210 due to “operational reasons”.

Earlier this month, days after the Iran war began, the PAA said that Pakistan’s airspace remained “fully open, safe, and completely available for all civil aviation traffic”.

Editorial

Updated 03 Aug, 2026

Farewell to arms?

PALESTINIAN resistance group Hamas recently made a major concession by agreeing to give up its weapons. It should be...
03 Aug, 2026

Unplanned future

A PROJECTION that Pakistan’s population could reach 400m by 2040 should not be treated as another dramatic number...
03 Aug, 2026

No more torture

EVEN the best laws on the books are worth little unless the state shows the willingness to enforce them. This is...
Updated 02 Aug, 2026

Urban flooding

THE warning from the disaster management and weather authorities that a new monsoon spell could trigger urban...
02 Aug, 2026

Fatal workplaces

THE methane explosion near Quetta that killed 34 coal miners is the latest entry in Pakistan’s long register of...
02 Aug, 2026

Dual standards

IT appears that the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party has fallen foul of the Election Commission of Pakistan. A...