Airlines Reroute Flights to Avoid Pakistan Airspace
In the wake of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, global airlines including Air France and Lufthansa have rerouted several flights, avoiding Pakistani airspace.
This shift is now disrupting urban air mobility in major South Asian hubs like Delhi, as longer flight durations and altered schedules ripple through the aviation sector. The airspace restrictions follow a deadly attack in Kashmir last month that heightened hostilities between the two nuclear-armed nations. While India has blocked its airspace to Pakistani airlines, Pakistan has reciprocated by denying access to Indian carriers, although it continues to allow international flights. In response, key European airlines are proactively avoiding Pakistani skies altogether. Lufthansa Group has confirmed that all its carriers—including Lufthansa and Swiss International—are steering clear of Pakistani airspace “until further notice.” This adjustment means longer routes and delayed arrivals for several Asia-bound flights, including those headed to New Delhi, Bangkok, and Ho Chi Minh City. On Sunday, Lufthansa’s Frankfurt-to-Delhi flight (LH760) arrived nearly an hour late due to the detour. Flight-tracking platforms like Flightradar24 have shown aircraft from British Airways, Emirates, and Swiss redirecting south over the Arabian Sea before making their northbound approach to India. Swiss has already announced it will rebook affected passengers missing connections at no extra cost.
The altered routes are not only straining airline schedules but also raising fuel consumption and operational costs. Moreover, cities like Delhi that depend on consistent international links could experience disruptions in passenger and cargo movement, indirectly impacting their economic momentum. For Pakistan, the decision may carry long-term urban financial consequences. The country earns hundreds of dollars per overflight, depending on aircraft weight and distance. With international airlines rerouting, these earnings are set to decline sharply. At a time when Pakistan’s foreign reserves are hovering around $10.2 billion—barely sufficient for two months of imports—the loss of this revenue is notable. Aviation analyst Brendan Sobie warns that the ongoing airspace avoidance could significantly affect not only Pakistan’s overflight earnings but also the broader reliability of urban air travel in the region.
As geopolitical uncertainties mount, urban centres like Delhi and Karachi face renewed vulnerability in maintaining their global connectivity. The unfolding scenario underlines the fragile intersection between international politics and sustainable, resilient urban mobility.
