• Home

Two Pakistan flights depart as airspace partially opens

Airspaces had been closed and flights halted after escalation of tensions on both sides of the LoC.

Read more...

Flight operations in Pakistan were partially restored on Wednesday evening, with the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi seeing two departures, the Pakistani airport regulator announced.
The North East and North Western airspaces remain closed, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority said.
Flights WY324 from Karachi to Muscat, and EK601 from Karachi to Dubai have taken off.
Earlier today, flight operations at affected airports in India resumed after the NOTAM (notice to airmen) advisory alerting pilots of potential hazards along a flight route has been withdrawn.
The update was tweeted by Indian news agency ANI.
In Pakistan, flight operations remained suspended at Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in the wake of the escalating tensions between Pakistan and India.
The move comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan.

Civil Aviation Authority of #Pakistan has officially closed its airspace until further notice & issued NOTAM. ???? pic.twitter.com/qGZBMiKxvG
- CAA Pakistan (@AirportPakistan) February 27, 2019

According to Lahore airport manager, flight operations at Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports have been suspended, the Geo News reported.
All incoming and outgoing local and international flights have been suspended until further orders, he was quoted as saying.
"A flight from Guanghzou, China has been sent back," the manager further said.
The channel quoting its sources said a passenger airplane was stopped from taking off from Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar on the orders of Civil Aviation Authority.
Earlier developments:
Nine airports in north India shut amid tension
Earlier, nine airports, including the ones in Srinagar and Jammu, were closed for civilian air traffic amid escalating tension with Pakistan, officials said.
Airports at Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu Manali, Pithoragarh were among those closed, they said.
The move to close the airports comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after the IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan.
In Srinagar, an official of the Airports Authority of India told PTI, "The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency".
While the official did not specify the nature of the emergency, it is believed the step was taken in view of an IAF jet crashing in Budgam district this morning.
Officials said they received instructions from air traffic controllers that the airports have been shut for civilian flights.
Some of the flights en route to Jammu, Leh and Srinagar airports have been diverted to their origin stations, they added. Airports at Chandigarh, Pathankot, Halwara are Bathinda have been put on high alert.
Guru Ram Dass International Airport Director Manoj Chansoria said the arrival and departure of all civil flights from Amritsar International Airport has been suspended.
"The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency," an official of the Airport Authority of India told PTI.
While the official did not specify the nature of the emergency, it is believed the step was taken in view of an IAF jet crashing in Budgam district this morning.

Uttarakhand: Flight operations at Dehradun airport also have been temporarily suspended. https://t.co/sVi8Y1krbI
- ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019

 
Jammu and Leh airports have also been closed for civilian traffic.

AP Acharya, Amritsar Airport Director: Due to operational reasons the airspace at Amritsar has been closed for now. No commercial flights are coming to Amritsar, there is no base here, so flights are not even taking off from here. pic.twitter.com/6rAbiDX7VL
- ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019

 

Punjab: Passengers stranded as flight operations at Amritsar airport have been suspended. pic.twitter.com/fQEtEEqZZh
- ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019

 
The flare up in the cross-LoC shelling, which was initiated by Pakistani troops in early hours of Wednesday has also resulted in security forces and other establishments being put on a heightened alert.
Meanwhile, an Indian airline Vistara said flights to and from four cities in northern India are on hold as tensions escalate.

Sources: International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing. pic.twitter.com/HY0f0uj8EK
- ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019

 
"Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold," Vistara, a joint venture between India's Tata Sons Limited and Singapore Airlines Limited said in a tweet.

#TravelUpdate. Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold. Customers are requested to check flight status before commencing their journey to the airport. (1/2)
- Vistara (@airvistara) February 27, 2019

 
India said its warplanes struck a militant training camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday, raising the risk of conflict between the two countries.