India and Pakistan have closed segments of their airspace in the northern parts of the countries and above the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region as the conflict in the region rapidly escalated. The closure forced airlines to both suspend some flights and reroute others.
According to NOTAM A0971/25, effective at 2100L (1530Z) on May 6, India closed a part of its airspace near the Pakistani border until May 9, 0200L (2130Z on May 8), ostensibly due to "air exercises". Pakistan closed parts of its airspace with NOTAM A0275/25, starting at 2330L (1830Z) on May 6 until 2330L (1830Z) on May 8. The initially quite extensive closure was subsequently adjusted to cover only the northern part of the country, including restrictions on arrivals to Islamabad International airport (which remains open).
The Indian closure forced local airlines to suspend routes to multiple northern airports, including Srinagar, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jammu, Leh Kushok Bakula Rimpochee, and others. In total, 18 commercial airports are affected by the closure. The Press Trust of India said Air India had cancelled all flights to nine cities, IndiGo Airlines to 11, and SpiceJet to six.
Despite some flight cancellations, major Pakistani airports - including Islamabad and Lahore International, both located near the disputed Kashmir region - remain open. Some international airlines began bypassing Pakistan before the most recent escalation, but now the closure will force all of them to reroute the flights. This affects primarily services between Southeast Asia and Europe.
The escalation began with the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which was initially claimed by a Pakistan-linked terrorist group. On May 6, India retaliated with a series of missile strikes in Pakistan.
