Flight Operations Resume at Major Airports After Airspace Closure Amid India Tensions
- Abeera Marium Siddiqui
- May 7, 2025
- 5:04 pm
- 39
- Trending
Pakistan flight operations resumed at major airports on Wednesday after being suspended for eight hours. The suspension happened due to rising tensions with India. The government had closed the airspace over Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad. This action came after unprovoked and cowardly missile strikes by India late Tuesday night.
Officials from the aviation department said that flights are now slowly getting back to normal. Karachi Airport saw two international flights and one domestic flight take off without issues. From Lahore, flight PA-401 — a private airline — flew to Karachi earlier in the morning.
International travel also resumed. Flight PK-607 left Karachi for Dubai on time. However, TK-709 to Istanbul was delayed. Another flight, PK-842 from Jeddah, had landed in Karachi because of the closure. It was later cleared to travel and arrived in Lahore safely.
Islamabad Airport also restarted limited operations. Four private jets landed just after the airspace reopened. However, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) released a new Notam (Notice to Airmen). It said that some flight routes in Lahore’s airspace will stay closed for 24 hours. Flights going to Islamabad can land, but they need to get permission from Air Traffic Control first.
Even with this partial reopening, Pakistan flight operations are still not fully back to normal. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has suspended all regular flights for 12 hours. A PIA spokesperson said that a few flights will resume in the afternoon. More flights are expected to leave after 12 PM.
Earlier, authorities had grounded all flights for up to 48 hours at several airports. These included Faisalabad, Sialkot, and Quetta, along with the major ones. At least 30 flights going to Lahore, Islamabad, Multan, Sialkot, and Karachi had to be rerouted. Many Pakistani planes were also stuck at international airports like Dubai and Sharjah.
After the airspace reopened, Uzbekistan Airways flight HY-461 from Tashkent was able to land in Lahore. Other flights from Malaysia and Thailand stayed grounded overnight because the situation kept changing.
The Civil Aviation Authority asked passengers to stay away from airports for now. Officials said full Pakistan flight operations will only start again when things are safe and stable.
The sudden airspace closure happened after India launched a large cross-border attack. Indian missiles hit many cities in Punjab and Azad Kashmir. The cities included Bahawalpur, Muzaffarabad, and Muridke. In response, the Pakistan Armed Forces shot down five Indian jets, destroyed one combat drone, and hit an enemy brigade base.
According to ISPR Director General Lt. General Ahmed Sharif, “26 civilians in Pakistan lost their lives and 46 others were injured during the 24 missile attacks launched by India across six different locations.”
