Lahore, Islamabad airports re-opened after brief closure amid tensions

LAHORE: In a recent development, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced that it has reopened airports in Islamabad and Lahore after being temporarily closed for “operational reasons.”

However, Karachi airport is still closed, the CAA added. The CAA’s airport closings followed reports from Pakistan’s military that several Indian drones were shot down during an air operation.

Earlier today, several air routes in and out of Lahore, Sialkot, Islamabad, and Karachi were closed to commercial air traffic. A NOTAM announcement stated that the Lahore and Sialkot air routes would be closed until noon today (Thursday).

The public is advised to contact their relevant airports to confirm their flight schedule.

The escalating tension between India and Pakistan has deeply affected the commercial aviation and travel industries, causing cancellations and re-routing of flights in the region.

Since India has conducted military strikes against Pakistan, several airlines have specified a specific or general distance that they will no longer fly to avoid Indian or Pakistani airspace, and numerous flights were cancelled or rerouted to avoid flying into Pakistan, according to the flight-tracking website FlightRadar24.

In addition, airports in northern India were closed. Despite the recent tension between the two countries causing most aircraft to avoid Pakistan and northern India, some airspace re-routing had begun even before the escalation of the latest conflict.