Pakistan extends Rahim Yar Khan airbase runway closure to June 6

A satellite image by Maxar Technologies shows a damaged runway at the Rahim Yar Khan air base on May 10. (AFP file photo)

Pakistan has reportedly extended the closure of the runway at its Rahim Yar Khan airbase, damaged during Indian airstrikes on May 10, till June 6.

The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) had originally issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) on the day of the strike, announcing the runway would be out of service until 4:59 am (Pakistan time) on May 18.

Days later, however, a fresh NOTAM now states the runway will remain unavailable until 4:59 am on June 6, states an Indian Express report. Like the earlier notice, the new one cites “work in progress” (WIP) as the reason, without providing further details.

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The extension, notably, points to the severity of the damage caused by India’s precision strike during the brief four-day military conflict earlier this month.

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Satellite images released by Indian authorities last week, following the operation, show a deep crater on the runway and significant structural damage to a building on the base.

Located in southern Punjab near the Rajasthan border, Rahim Yar Khan functions as both a Pakistan Air Force forward operating base under the Central Air Command and civilian airport Sheikh Zayed International Airport.

India targeted the Rahim Yar Khan airbase along with five other key Pakistani military installations, Rafiki, Murid, Chaklala, Sukkur, and Juniya, on May 10.

The strikes came in response to what New Delhi described as Pakistan’s "escalatory and provocative" attempts to breach Indian airspace at multiple points, all of which were successfully repelled.

The ICAO and the US FAA both define "WIP" in a NOTAM as referring to ongoing surface repair work, reinforcing that the damage pertains directly to the runway's usability.