Airlines avoiding Pakistan's eastern airspace, making flights longer
Passengers travelling to Karachi from Lahore reported longer flight times than usual on Tuesday as it emerged that airlines are avoiding the eastern airspace of Pakistan in view of continuing tensions with India.
The Civil Aviation Authority had a day earlier notified that the country's airspace, which was closed last week amid escalation with India, is now fully reopened for international and domestic travel.
But "a Lahore to Karachi flight which takes an hour-and-a-half approximately, took nearly two-and-a-half hours today," said Muhammad Khan, a passenger who travelled via Serene Air on flight ER-523.
However, he said the pilot had notified the passengers at the start of the flight that he would be taking a longer route as per the instructions given to him, without specifying a reason.
"I did not mind though, as I got the chance to take in the view of the Balochistan landscape for an extended period of time," Khan added.