Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Kabul (BNA) Pakistan’s airspace has been reopened to civil aviation with immediate effect, authorities said on Tuesday, following more than four months of restrictions imposed in the wake of a standoff with neighboring India earlier this year.
“With immediate effect Pakistan airspace is open for all type of civil traffic on published ATS (Air Traffic Service) routes,” Pakistan’s civil aviation authority said.
Pakistan closed its airspace in February after a standoff with India in the wake of an attack by a Pakistan-based militant group on a police convoy in Indian-Controlled Kashmir that killed 40 paramilitary police.
Both countries carried out aerial attacks over the other’s territory during the standoff and warplanes fought a brief dogfight over the skies of the disputed Kashmir region.
The restrictions affected many international carriers using Pakistani airspace. Afghanistan, which suffered millions of dollars loss due to the closure, welcomed the reopening. Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority in a statement said that henceforth Kabul Delhi and Kabul-Mumbai flights will take place via Pakistan.
