The Pakistan Government, on the 7th of August, closed a corridor in its airspace for India.
An official of Air India said the closure will result in 12 minutes of additional flying over the sea and the flights will be diverted to other routes. The closure will not affect Indian flights much.
The spokesperson of Air India said, “One air corridor has been closed (in Pakistani airspace), requiring a maximum of 12 minutes diversion. It will not affect us (much.)”
According to sources, approximately 50 Indian flights take the route which crosses the Pakistan airspace, especially flights to the United States of America (U.S.A.,) Europe and the Middle East.
This is not the first time the Pakistan Government closed its airspace for India. Recently, on the 26th of February, the Pakistan Government closed its airspace for Indian flights, after the Balakot airstrike.
Later, on the 16th of July, the Pakistan Government reopened the airspace.
This time, the airspace was closed after the Government of India revoked Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Article 370 of the Constitution of India gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, but now, Jammu and Kashmir is also a part of India and will have to follow the rules of the Constitution of India.
Apart from scrapping Article 370, Amit Shah, the Home Minister of India, also introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019. According to the Bill, Jammu and Kashmir will be bifurcated into two union territories (UTs,) one would be Jammu and Kashmir and the other, Ladakh.
The Bill was passed by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, following which, Ram Nath Kovind, the President of India, also gave his assent to the Bill.
Stay tuned for further updates.
