Islamabad:
The closure of Pakistan airspace has assigned 100 to 150 Indian planes daily, resulting in a reduction of around 20% of air traffic, said a written response subject by the Ministry of Defense to the National Assembly concerning the closure of air space following the Pakistani confrontation in India in May.
According to Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA), the closure of aircraft registered with Indian airlines led to a loss of approximately 4.1 billion income rupees on April 24 and June 30225.
The airspace was closed after the attack on April 22 against Indian tourists occupied cashmere. Later, on May 7, India launched missile strikes inside Pakistan triggering a conflict that lasted until May 10, when Pakistan launched a series of attacks in India.
In 2019, the closure of the airspace after the Pulwama attack in the detained cashmere resulted in a loss of around 7.6 billion revenue revenue for the PAA – then called Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
During the recent confrontation with India, Pakistan underwent certain financial losses due to the closure of airspace; However, national sovereignty and defense are considered more important than economic interests, added the answer.
The safeguarding of the fatherland remains the top priority. Currently, Pakistan airspace is open to all airlines, with the exception of Indian planes. Airlines and Pakistani planes are also prohibited from flying over Indian airspace. Before the 2019 tensions, the daily average overview revenues amounted to $ 508,000.
Despite this temporary disruption, the PAA has demonstrated financial resilience. Regarding the defense of national sovereignty and security, no price is too high. The defense of Pakistan will always remain our priority above all, she added.
