Flight operations temporarily suspended at major airports: PAA

Passengers wait outside at Jinnah International Airport after all domestic and international flights were cancelled in Karachi, Pakistan, May 7, 2025. — AFP

• Passengers should stay in touch with relevant airlines: PAA
• Authority confirms that Notams remain in effect.
• Operations suspended due to Pakistan-India tension.
  

The Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) said on Thursday that flight operations at Lahore and Sialkot airports have been temporarily suspended, in light of the current tension between Pakistan and India.

Lahore and Sialkot airports will not be available till 12 noon today, the PAA said in a statement.

As a result, the authority added that passengers should stay in touch with relevant airlines for the latest situation, 

Moreover, flight operations at Karachi and Islamabad Airport were also suspended till 12 noon today, the Airport Authority said.

According to the PAA, flight operations at Islamabad Airport were temporarily suspended due to operational reasons.

The authority took the decision amid heightened threats of India's forces trespassing in the Pakistani airspace.

Furthermore, several, mostly Asian airlines, announced that they were cancelling and rerouting some flights following Indian strikes into Pakistan's territory, escalating the crisis between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

Images from flight tracking websites after the attack showed a long line of airlines passing over Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait, raising the possibility of airspace congestion.

Pakistani authorities said 57 international flights were operating in Pakistan's airspace when India struck.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's office said in a statement that India's action "caused grave danger to commercial airlines" belonging to Gulf countries and "endangered lives."

Earlier on Wednesday night, the PAA confirmed that all the airports were functioning normally across the country after the national airspace was closed for a few hours

Pakistan had suspended flight operations at major airports following India’s attack inside the country on Tuesday-Wednesday night.

Pakistan armed forces, in response to Indian aggression, shot down five Indian Air Force (IAF) jets, a combat drone, and destroyed brigade headquarters after India carried out missile strikes in cities of Punjab and Azad Kashmir.