Pakistan will decide on Wednesday in a meeting whether it should carry on with the ban it imposed on Indian flights from using its airspace or if it is not required anymore, the Indian news agency PTI quoted Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson, Mujtaba Baig, as saying.
Pakistani airspace was re-opened on 27 March for all flights except for those coming from India, Thailand, and Malaysia.
The officials and ministers concerned would participate in the 15 May meeting to decide on the issue of Pakistani airspace ”operational and overflying” for India, the official added.
Pakistan’s Federal Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry, however, has opined that the status quo will remain until the elections are over in India. “I don’t see any improvement in relations between Pakistan and India till the elections is over and a new government is installed. The ban on airspace by each other I think will also continue till Indian polls”.
In closing its airspace to India, Pakistan also suspended flight operations for Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, resulting in a revenue loss of millions of rupees per day, the report said.
Earlier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country’s national carrier, used to operate four flights to Kuala Lumpur, two to Bangkok, and two to New Delhi.