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Dhaka: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has stopped overflying Indian airspace from April 27. The move came amid the escalating geopolitical tensions between the countries due to the consequences of the April 22 terrorist attack in Indian-controlled territories of Kashmir.
ADS-B data from Flightradar24.com shows PIA's flights to Kuala Lumpur from Lahore and Islamabad are detouring through Chinese airspace, which previously flew across Indian airspace on their routes. The new detour adds around three hours of additional flight time in comparison to their original schedule.
However, escaping Indian airspace didn't affect flights to any other destinations except Kuala Lumpur, as the Malaysian capital is the only eastbound destination of PIA. The airline currently operates two weekly services from Lahore and Islamabad.
Following the April 22 attack, which has been claimed by Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, India placed several retaliatory actions against Pakistan, including halting all visas and terminating the Indus Water Treaty. In response, Pakistan suspended all trade with India and restricted Indian airlines from overflying its airspace. Though India has not imposed such airspace restrictions, PIA decided on its own to bypass Indian airspace.
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