Pakistan’s airspace will continue to remain closed till 1 pm today according to a notification circulated by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Flight operations with restricted routes to and from Quetta, Peshawar, Karachi and Islamabad airports, and partially from Faisalabad and Lahore will continue as usual.
Flights on the eastern routes are yet to be initiated, said a CAA official.
Flights from airports on the border cannot resume until clearance is given by the authorities concerned.
Dera Ismail Khan, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Multan and Sialkot airports, which were scheduled to restart their operations on March 5, haven’t got clearance to resume operations except for Multan.
Flight operations resumed from Multan, Chitral, Punjgur, Turbat and Gwadar airports on Wednesday, March 6.
It was expected earlier that the country’s airspace would be open for commercial flights by Wednesday, however, Indian attempts to disrupt peace, evident from the intrusion of a submarine in Pakistani waters, may further delay it.
CAA had earlier notified the airmen that the airspace would remain closed till 1 pm on Tuesday, with usual business to and from Quetta, Peshawar, Karachi and Islamabad airports and partially from Faisalabad and Lahore to continue with restricted routes.
The official informed a private news outlet that Thai air is yet to resume its operations as it uses Indian airspace for its flights, however, all the flights from Gulf countries are doing business as usual. The domestic flights from Islamabad to Karachi are now flying over Balochistan and taking three hours as compared to the usual under two hours.
Via Dawn
