Air France, Lufthansa Among Global Airlines Avoiding Pakistani Airspace

Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, Swiss International, and Emirates are among global carriers rerouting flights to avoid Pakistani airspace, news agency Reuters reported on Monday.

This comes amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack and Islamabad’s apprehension of retaliatory action by New Delhi.

The Reuters report quoted Lufthansa Group as saying its airlines are avoiding Pakistani airspace until further notice, acknowledging that the decision would result in longer flight durations to several Asian destinations. Similarly, Air France, British Airways, Emirates, and Swiss International Air Lines flights have also suspended flights over Pakistan, the report added.

Apart from India-Pakistan standoff, global airlines are also reacting to parallel threats in the Middle East, where a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels landed near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, prompting several Western carriers to temporarily cancel flights.

The rerouting comes after India, on April 30, closed its airspace to Pakistani airlines as part of a string of retaliatory measures following the Pahalgam attack. The ban covers all aircraft registered in, operated by, owned or leased by Pakistani carriers. This followed Pakistan’s earlier closure of its airspace to Indian carriers.

A PTI report on May 1, citing a Pakistani publication, said the country has closed specific portions of Karachi and Lahore airspace for four hours each day during May and put all airports across the country on high alert.

“The restricted airspace will be closed daily from 4:00 am to 8:00 am local time between May 1 and May 31,” Express Tribune said, quoting an official notice.

Pakistan's Air Traffic Control authorities on May 1 issued new directives to all flight movements, including foreign airlines transiting through Pakistani airspace, the report added.

(With PTI inputs)