Major foreign airlines rerouting to avoid Pakistani airspace, check list here

Major international airlines reroute to avoid Pakistani airspace including British Airways (Representative Image)

Amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, several major international airlines have started rerouting flights to avoid Pakistani airspace.

On April 24, Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian carriers in response to a series of strong measures taken by India following the Pahalgam terror attack. Earlier that day, India had suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, ordered Pakistani nationals to leave within 48 hours, and barred Pakistani airlines from using its airspace.

In retaliation, Pakistan halted Indian-operated flights, suspended trade ties, and stopped issuing special visas to Indian citizens. However, it continued allowing international carriers to use its airspace.

Airline statements and flight tracking data confirm that a growing number of carriers are rerouting flights to ensure passenger safety, given the fragile geopolitical climate between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

Here's a look at the airlines avoiding Pakistani airspace:

• Air France - "The airline has decided to suspend overflight of Pakistan until further notice," Air France said in a statement.
• British Airways
• Lufthansa - Lufthansa Group's airlines are "avoiding Pakistani airspace until further notice" it said in a statement to Reuters.
• Emirates
• ITA Airways
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Swiss International Air Lines

According to a report by Dawn, flight tracking data indicated that certain flights operated by British Airways, Swiss International Air Lines, and Emirates diverted north toward Delhi after crossing the Arabian Sea to steer clear of Pakistani airspace.

As per the Swedish flight tracking platform Flightradar24, flights operated by Air France, British Airways, and Swiss were seen diverting around Pakistani airspace on May 1.

According to the Economic Times, ITA Airways and LOT Polish Airlines began rerouting their flights to avoid Pakistani airspace starting May 2.

Flights such as Lufthansa’s Delhi–Frankfurt, British Airways’ Delhi–London, and Air France’s Delhi–Paris are now flying longer routes via Mumbai and Ahmedabad, completely bypassing Pakistani airspace.

As of May 2, Lufthansa expanded its flight diversions to include several routes, such as Munich–Delhi, Frankfurt–Mumbai, Frankfurt–Hyderabad, and Bangkok–Munich. Similarly, LOT’s Warsaw–Delhi and ITA Airways’ Rome–Delhi flights have also been rerouted, adding up to an hour of extra flight time.

One example includes Lufthansa flight LH760 from Frankfurt to New Delhi, which on Sunday took nearly an hour longer than usual due to its detour around Pakistan, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

The added strain is now evident at Mumbai airport, where air traffic control is handling up to 135 additional flights daily—a mix of international and Indian carriers—because of the rerouting, CNBC reported.

Indian carriers rerouting flights

All international flights operated by Indian airlines such as IndiGo, Akasa Air, Air India, and Air India Express from cities including Delhi, Amritsar, Jaipur, Lucknow, and Srinagar have also been rerouted. These flights—primarily bound for the Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait), Eastern Europe (Turkey, Greece, Georgia), and even North America—have been avoiding Pakistani airspace since April 24.

Not all airlines are following suit

Despite the widespread rerouting, some international carriers continue to fly over Pakistan after assessing the safety of their flight paths. These include Saudia (formerly Saudi Arabian Airlines), Oman Air, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines reports CNBC.

These airlines have reportedly chosen to continue using Pakistani airspace after conducting their own security assessments.