India extends airspace ban on Pakistani aircraft, entering sixth month of closure

Initially meant to last a month, the measure has since been renewed multiple times. India responded on April 30 with a corresponding ban on Pakistani aircraft, also extending its closure month by month via NOTAMs

India has extended its prohibition on Pakistani airlines and aircraft from using Indian airspace for another month, until the morning of October 24, an Indian Express report said on Tuesday.

The directive was issued through a fresh Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) on Monday, just days after Pakistan extended its own restrictions on Indian aircraft for the same duration.

With both sides pushing their bans forward, the reciprocal airspace closures are now entering their sixth consecutive month.

As per The Indian Express, Pakistan first moved to shut its airspace to Indian airlines and aircraft on April 24, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Initially meant to last a month, the measure has since been renewed multiple times. India responded on April 30 with a corresponding ban on Pakistani aircraft, also extending its closure month by month via NOTAMs.

Notably, while the restrictions apply to each other’s carriers and aircraft—including military planes—both countries still allow foreign airlines to transit their skies.

The newspaper noted that Pakistan’s latest extension was issued two days before the previous ban expired on September 24. India followed with its own extension, mirroring Pakistan’s end date of October 24 at 5:29 a.m. IST.

The impact of these closures has been markedly uneven. The Indian Express highlighted that around 800 weekly flights by Indian carriers are affected, particularly those traveling westward from North India to destinations in West Asia, Europe, the UK, the Caucasus, and North America. The detours forced by the lack of access to Pakistani airspace have lengthened flight times by anywhere between 15 minutes and several hours, depending on the route. This has driven up fuel costs, complicated crew scheduling, and generally raised operating expenses for Indian airlines.

By contrast, the ban has caused minimal disruption to Pakistan. As The Indian Express reported, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has a limited international network and is already facing financial strain. Aviation analytics firm Cirium estimates that only about six PIA flights a week—mainly those connecting Kuala Lumpur with Lahore or Islamabad—would normally traverse Indian skies.

For Indian carriers, however, the restrictions have been far more burdensome. Air India continues to serve Europe, the UK, North America, and West Asia, while IndiGo operates routes to West Asia, Turkey, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.

The ban even forced IndiGo to suspend services from Delhi to Almaty and Tashkent, as those destinations are now out of range for its narrow-body fleet. Other airlines such as Air India Express, Akasa Air, and SpiceJet, which focus on West Asian markets, are also bearing the brunt of longer and costlier flights, The Indian Express reported.