Pakistan’s CAA reopens Islamabad and Lahore airports

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said Thursday it has reopened Islamabad and Lahore airports, after both were briefly closed for “operational reasons”.

Karachi international airport remains closed, it added.

The airport closures came as the military said it was shooting down Indian drones in an ongoing operation.

Earlier in the day, several air routes within Lahore and Sialkot were closed for commercial flights.

A NOTAM was issued stating that Lahore and Sialkot air routes will remain closed until 12 noon today (Thursday).

How India-Pakistan conflict pushed planes off course

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Airports Authority has said that flight operations at Karachi Airport will remain suspended until midnight tonight due to operational reasons.

Passengers have been advised to stay in contact with their respective airlines for updates regarding their flights.

Fresh tension between India and Pakistan has hit the commercial aviation industry, forcing rerouting of flights and cancellations.

Following India’s military strikes, several airlines said they were re-routing or cancelling flights over or near the region. Dozens of flights were cancelled or diverted to avoid Pakistan’s airspace, flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 showed. Several airports were also shut in northern India.

Even as the fresh tension led nearly all aircraft to stay away from Pakistan and northern India, the rerouting of some flights had began earlier.

India unveiled a slew of measures against Pakistan last month, including suspending a water-sharing pact, soon after the terror attack in Indian Occupied Kashmir. In retaliation, Pakistan shut its airspace to Indian airlines on April 24, amid other measures. India retaliated by shutting its airspace to Pakistani carriers.