The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) issued a new Notice to Airpersons (NOTAM) on Thursday, announcing the renewed closure of Lahore’s airspace.
According to the NOTAM issued by the PAA, the airspace will remain closed until 6 am tomorrow morning.
In addition, the PAA also issued new instructions for the Gilgit and Skardu airports.
Both airports have been advised by the PAA to coordinate with air traffic control before commencing any flight operations. The PAA stated that flights will be prohibited at Skardu and Gilgit airports without prior clearance.
Earlier, the PAA had announced the resumption of flight operations at the Lahore, Islamabad, and Sialkot airports.
The PAA advised passengers to remain in contact with their respective airlines for the latest updates regarding their flight schedules.
However, there was no clarification provided regarding the situation at Karachi’s airport.
The PAA had previously suspended flight operations at the Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and Sialkot airports amidst the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India.
The authority initially announced the closure of these airports until 12 pm today, which was subsequently extended until 6 pm.
According to the PAA, the temporary suspension of flight operations was due to operational reasons.
The authority’s decision was made amid heightened concerns of Indian forces potentially violating Pakistani airspace.
Furthermore, several airlines, predominantly Asian carriers, announced cancellations and rerouting of some flights following Indian strikes into Pakistani territory, further escalating the crisis between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
Images from flight tracking websites following the attack depicted a significant number of airlines rerouting over Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait, raising concerns about potential airspace congestion.
Pakistani authorities reported that 57 international flights were operating within Pakistan’s airspace when India launched its strikes.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office issued a statement asserting that India’s actions “caused grave danger to commercial airlines” belonging to Gulf countries and “endangered lives.”
Earlier on Wednesday night, the PAA had confirmed that all airports across the country were functioning normally after the national airspace was briefly closed.
Pakistan had initially suspended flight operations at major airports following India’s attack inside the country on Tuesday-Wednesday night.
In response to Indian aggression, the Pakistan armed forces shot down five Indian Air Force (IAF) jets, a combat drone, and destroyed a brigade headquarters after India carried out missile strikes in cities of Punjab and Azad Kashmir.
