How do military standoffs affect aviation? | Explained Premium

What are the situations in which countries can close their airspace? Are only military planes banned? What happens to civilian flights? After Operation Sindoor, are Indian planes now being allowed in Pakistan and vice-versa?

The story so far: After the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, India initiated a series of measures against Pakistan that included the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. In response to India’s calibrated steps, Pakistan issued a NOTAM (notice to airmen), closing its airspace to Indian aircraft from April 24 to May 23 — multiple air traffic routes were unavailable across the north and south as well as a part of the Arabian Sea. India responded with a similar NOTAM on April 30, that was effective till May 23.

Also Read | India extends airspace ban for Pakistan airlines till June 23

After India’s tri-service Operation Sindoor (May 7-10), Pakistan opened its airspace resulting in some foreign airlines resuming overflights. However, both countries have again issued fresh notices, closing their airspace to Indian (“till June 24, 4.59 a.m., Pakistan Airports Authority”) and Pakistan aircraft (June 23), respectively.

Prof. Mohammad Owais Farooqui, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Law, Department of Public Law, College of Law, University of Sharjah, has told The Hindu that in the 1950s, India had objected to Pakistan’s declaration of a “prohibited zone” along its frontier as discriminatory as it allowed overflights by other nations. The dispute was resolved diplomatically but set a precedent that such restrictions must have bona fide security justifications.

The Hindu’s archives show that airspace closure has been a major issue corresponding with the state of bilateral ties. Following the 1965 India-Pakistan war, a report, “Overflights from Feb. 10: Indo-Pak. Accord: Air Services to be Resumed From March 1” (The Hindu, February 8, 1966), highlighted “an in principle agreement to allow overflights and a resumption of normal Pakistani and Indian services from March 1”. Pakistan also wanted a direct link to Dacca (Dhaka), which was cut off in the war in September. The report said that “to reach East Pakistan from the west wing, Pakistan aircraft at present have to fly by Ceylon, a detour of more than 2,000 miles and that international flights have been forced to operate from Karachi to Bombay — across the Arabian Sea (connections to New Delhi are picked up from Bombay)”.

In 1971, there was another ban following the hijacking of an Indian Airlines Fokker F-27 flight (Srinagar-Jammu) on January 30 to Pakistan. The passengers were released in Lahore and the plane was destroyed (burnt). A report, “Pak. Civil Overflights Also Banned” (February 4, 1971), detailed India’s banning of civilian overflights as well as continuing an existing ban on military aircraft until “Pakistan had satisfactorily settled the question of compensation for the Indian aircraft”. The report said that flights in both countries were affected (Pakistan “much more than India”). This incident also saw India filing a case in the World Court after Pakistan lodged a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United Nations Security Council against the overflight ban. The World Court ruled (14-2 vote) that ICAO had jurisdiction over the issue. The issue was resolved in June 1976, with India and Pakistan signing a memorandum of understanding on resumption of overflights and flights.

Since then, there have been other closures and normalisations, with major events being the Kargil war (1999), the Indian Parliament attack (2001) and the Balakot airstrikes (2019).