Foreign airlines voluntarily avoid Pakistan airspace due to concerns over safety due to escalating tensions with India

Impact of Pakistani Airspace closure on Indian airlines

Amid increasing tension between India and Pakistan following a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, several international airlines are avoiding Pakistani airspace, according to airlines' statements and flight tracker data. Among major airlines avoiding airspace over Pakistan are Air France, British Airways, Emirates and Lufthansa.

While Pakistan's airspace remains closed to Indian carriers following the incident, several international airlines are voluntarily rerouting flights to avoid Pakistani territory. Flights like Lufthansa’s Delhi-Frankfurt, British Airways’ Delhi-London, and Air France’s Delhi-Paris are now taking longer routes via Mumbai and Ahmedabad, bypassing Pakistan entirely.

Flight tracking platform Flightradar24 reported that from April 30, several European airlines began altering flight paths to avoid northern Pakistani air corridors, which were declared unavailable through official Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) valid until May. On May 2, Lufthansa, ITA Airways, and LOT Polish Airlines also started diverting flights away from Pakistan.

This voluntary rerouting follows Pakistan’s formal ban on Indian carriers using its airspace, implemented on April 24 following the Pahalgam terror attack. The expanding scope of carriers avoiding Pakistan’s airspace now affects both east-west and west-east air traffic routes.

Affected flights include Lufthansa’s services on routes such as Munich–Delhi, Frankfurt–Mumbai, Frankfurt–Hyderabad, and Bangkok–Munich. Similarly, LOT’s Warsaw–Delhi and ITA Airways’ Rome–Delhi flights were seen bypassing Pakistan. These diversions have added up to an hour of extra flying time.

Flights between Europe and India now require approximately one hour of additional flying time due to these diversions. This extension translates directly into increased fuel consumption, higher operational costs, and potential schedule disruptions for airlines operating these routes, Flightradar said in a statement on May 3rd.

Airlines may eventually transfer these additional costs to passengers through fare increases, though the timing and implementation of such price adjustments remain uncertain. The competitive nature of international routes may delay immediate price increases as carriers absorb short-term costs.

However, not all international airlines are avoiding the Pakistani Airspace. Airlines including Saudia, formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, Oman Air, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways amd KLM Royal Dutch Airlines continue to use Pakistani airspace after evaluating their own safety protocols.

"In conducting its operations, KLM always prioritises safety of passengers and staff. Selecting safe and optimal routes is a standard part of our daily practice, and we continuously assess the safety situation... Based on current safety information, KLM and other airlines are currently flying over Pakistan," KLM airlines said in a statement.