The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has announced an extension of restrictions on Indian aircraft, keeping Pakistan’s airspace closed to all Indian-registered planes until January 23, 2026.
The decision was communicated through a fresh Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), issued a week before the previous restriction was due to expire on December 24. According to the PAA, the ban applies to all aircraft registered in India, including those owned, operated, or leased by Indian airlines, as well as Indian military flights.
Pakistan has extended its airspace ba_n on Indian aircraft until January 23, 2026, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA).
The restri_ction applies to all Indian-registered planes, including commercial, leased, and milit_ary flights, across both Karachi (OPKR) and… pic.twitter.com/2WsNhXyk7B
— Startup Pakistan (@PakStartup) December 17, 2025
Pakistan and India have maintained reciprocal airspace closures since late April, following a deadly attack in Pahalgam, located in occupied Kashmir, which left 26 people dead. India accused Pakistan of backing the attack, an allegation Islamabad firmly rejected, calling instead for an independent and neutral investigation. The situation rapidly deteriorated in early May, culminating in the most intense military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors in decades. Pakistan has shot down seven Indian fighter jets during the clashes.
The continued closure has imposed significant financial and operational costs on Indian airlines, particularly long-haul carriers forced to reroute flights. In November, reports indicated that Air India had been lobbying New Delhi to seek China’s permission to access a restricted military airspace corridor over Xinjiang to reduce flight times and fuel expenses. The extension signals that aviation restrictions remain closely tied to broader geopolitical tensions between the two rivals.
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