Amid continuing bilateral tensions, India and Pakistan have both issued new Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs), extending the closure of their respective airspaces to each other’s planes until July 24, 2025. This extension, the third in a row, comes after a string of increasingly severe incidents that started with the fatal Pahalgam attack on April 22, 2025, which claimed the lives of 26 people, including civilians and security officials.
A major increase in cross-border hostilities was signaled by India’s retaliatory launch of “Operation Sindoor” on May 7, which targeted militant infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
In reaction to the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan banned Indian-registered and operated aircraft, including military flights, from using its airspace.
India responded by closing its airspace to Pakistani aircraft and airlines, including military flights.
The next assessment is scheduled for June 24, and both nations extended their respective bans by an additional month.
Both countries extended the closures until July 24, 2025, by issuing new NOTAMs on June 23, 2025.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines, which only permit airspace limits for a month at a time and call for frequent reviews and renewals, are followed by these restrictions.
If the dispute doesn’t end diplomatically, these extra expenses might eventually be passed on to passengers in the form of higher rates or fewer route options.
The limitations on airspace between India and Pakistan are a part of a global trend in which airlines are rerouting flights to avoid areas of tension. Airlines are avoiding airspace over Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Israel in favor of routes over the Caspian Sea or through Egypt and Saudi Arabia as a result of recent escalations in the Middle East, especially between Iran and Israel. This illustrates a developing trend in which geopolitical tensions cause direct disruptions to international aviation networks, raising expenses and complicating operations for airlines everywhere.
India and Pakistan’s reciprocal extension of airspace restrictions highlights the continued turbulence in their bilateral relationship, which has serious implications for both countries’ commercial aviation and economic interests.
The aviation industry, particularly Indian carriers, would continue to be negatively impacted by these restrictions in the form of increased expenses, operational difficulties, and possible effects on passengers unless diplomatic channels are used to defuse the issue.
