Pakistan, on the 16th of July, opened its airspace for all commercial flights and removed the ban on Indian flights.
After the Balakot airstrikes, which took place on the 26th of February, the Pakistan Government banned Indian flights from flying via its airspace.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted airstrikes at the Jaish e Mohammed (JeM) training camp in Balakot, in the wake of Pulwama terror attack, which took place on the 14th of February.
An official from Pakistan said, “Pakistan has permitted all airlines to fly through its airspace from around 12:41 A.M., today. Indian airline operators will start using normal routes through Pakistan airspace soon.”
The Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) at around 12:41 A.M., on the 15th of July, which reads, “With immediate effect, Pakistan airspace is open for all types of civil traffic on published ATS (Air Traffic Service) routes.”
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The decision of removing the ban and opening the airspace for Indian flights is a major relief for all Indian commercial flights, which suffered financial losses.
Due to the ban, airlines were facing issues for flying its international flights from Delhi to the United States of America (U.S.A.,) and Europe, as the routes are from Pakistan airspace.
According to data presented by Hardeep Singh Puri, the Minister of Civil Aviation, Air India faced a huge loss of approximately Rs. 491 crores, till the 2nd of July. On the other hand, private airlines such as SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir lost Rs. 30.73 crores, Rs. 25.1 crores and Rs. 2.1 crores, respectively.
