Between April 24 and June 30, Pakistan experienced significant financial losses amounting to more than Rs 1,240 crore (PKR 4.1 billion) after imposing a ban on Indian-registered aircraft from using its airspace. According to Dawn, which cited an official statement from the Defence Ministry, the measure, enforced by the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA), was a direct response to India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, that killed 26 people, most of them tourists.
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif confirmed that the airspace closure, which began on April 24, sharply reduced overflying revenue. The ban covers all Indian-registered aircraft, whether operated, owned, or leased by Indian carriers. As a result, Pakistan’s daily transit traffic dropped by 100 to 150 flights, leading to an overall reduction of nearly 20 percent in its international overflight volume during the period.
The PAA’s revenue decline reflects the heavy dependency on overflying fees from Indian carriers traversing Pakistani airspace on international routes. The closure has been extended until 4:59 a.m. on August 24, according to a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by the PAA, which specified that the restriction applies to both civilian and military flights operated by India.
Indian carriers remain unaffected on other global routes, while Pakistani airlines continue to face reciprocal restrictions on entering Indian airspace. India’s Civil Aviation Minister of State has confirmed that the current NOTAM will stay in effect until August 23, 2025.
The deadly Pahalgam attack was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot based in Pakistan. In retaliation, India launched multiple countermeasures, including Operation Sindoor, which targeted critical terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (POK). The airspace standoff has now become an additional layer of strain on already tense bilateral relations.
