The Pakistani government has extended the shutdown of its airspace by another day until the 7th of March. Limited flights have been permitted in Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta.
Pakistan Airspace will remain shut across the country until March 7 now. Limited flights allowed in Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta. Most important question: How much hit has the Pak economy taken in last 10 days due to this shutdown in fear? This is unimaginable loss. pic.twitter.com/CV2ATZYcFV
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) March 6, 2019
Pakistan, on the 5th of March, had announced that their airspace had fully reopened only to extend it to Tuesday, then again till Wednesday and now it has been announced that it has been extended till Thursday. Although things appear to have deescalated for now, Pakistan still remains wary as ceasefire violations continue at the Line of Control.
Pakistan had closed its airspace after tensions escalated with India in the wake of the Pulwama attack on February 14 by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). The terror attack was followed by airstrikes on terror camps within Pakistani territory by the Indian Air Force.
According to flight tracking information observed on Flightradar24, all flights in and out of Pakistan was stopped and the airspace remained closed since then. Flights from carriers including Singapore Airlines, Finnair, British Airways, Aeroflot and Air India had to detour to avoid flying over Pakistan. Reportedly, about 800 flights a day use the India-Pakistan air corridor.
