Islamabad
Pakistan has suffered a loss of Rs 4.1 billion after closing its airspace for Indian airlines. This information was given by the Ministry of Defense of Pakistan in the National Assembly. The Pak government said that the deficit is from 24 April to 30 June. That is, the Pakistan Airport Authority has suffered even a bigger loss, which is still going on as the neighboring country has still not opened its airspace for Indian airlines.
According to the Pakistani Defense Ministry, this step was taken by India in response to the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty on 23 April. Pakistan canceled permission to fly Indian registered aircraft and aircraft operated by Indian airlines, owned or leased in its airspace. The ban on the airspace was affected by 100 to 150 Indian flights per day, which led to a decrease of about 20% in Pakistan’s air traffic. Pak Defense Minister Khwaja Asif said in the National Assembly that the ban caused economic loss, but national security and sovereignty were given priority. He said, “When it comes to sovereignty and defense, no price is big.”
“Estimated much less than an estimated 8.5 billion figure”
The Ministry of Defense said that the loss is worth 4.1 billion rupees, which is much lower than the earlier estimated 8.5 billion figures. Earlier, in 2019, Pakistan had lost Rs 7.6 billion due to the closure of airspace during similar tension. The ministry also said that the average daily overflight revenue in 2019 was $ 508,000, which increased to $ 760,000 in 2025. Pakistan defended its policy, saying that the decision to shut down the airspace was taken through notice to airmen, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Central Government. The ministry insisted that the step was taken to protect the citizens, protect infrastructure and enable military plan.
How did Pakistan earn money from Indian aircraft?
The Pakistan Airports Authority is mainly earned from the use of airspace. When an aircraft passes through Pakistan airspace, the airlines have to pay a fee for this, which is called overfalling charge or navigation fees. This fee is fixed depending on the type of aircraft, the distance of the flight and the use of airspace. PAA collects this fee, which is a large part of his income. When Pakistan banned its airspace for Indian airlines, the fee from 100-150 flights stopped daily. This caused a loss of Rs 4.1 billion to PAA, as Indian aircraft had to go through long routes and could not use Pakistan airspace. Apart from this, PAA also earns services at airports, such as landing fees, parking fees, and other facilities. But the main reason for the loss in this case was the lack of overfalling fee. Currently, Pakistan’s airspace is still closed for Indian Airlines, and this ban will remain in force by at least the end of August. In response to this, India has also closed its airspace for Pakistani Airlines.
