New Delhi, June 24: Air India, the airline under the Tata Group, reported that one of its flights from Delhi to Amritsar briefly entered Pakistani airspace during a landing maneuver at Amritsar Airport on Monday.
The incident occurred with Air India Flight AI479 as it was preparing to land. According to the airline, the crew executed a “go-around” procedure, which led to the limited entry into Pakistani airspace.
In a statement, Air India confirmed, “On June 22, the crew of Flight AI479, traveling from Delhi to Amritsar, entered Pakistani airspace briefly during the go-around procedure at Amritsar Airport.”
The airline has informed the relevant regulatory agencies about the incident and is conducting an internal investigation. The statement emphasized, “Passenger and crew safety is our top priority at Air India.”
Currently, Pakistan’s airspace is closed to all Indian-registered, Indian-owned, or aircraft leased by Indian companies, encompassing both civilian and military flights. This restriction was imposed in April 2025 following a terrorist attack on Indian tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which escalated border tensions.
Since then, Pakistan has been extending this ban monthly. In response, India has also closed its airspace to Pakistani aircraft. Earlier this month, Pakistan extended the air ban on Indian civilian and military flights until July 24.
A notice issued by the Pakistan Airports Authority stated, “The ban on Indian civilian and military aircraft will be effective from June 16 at 5:50 PM until July 24 at 4:59 AM.”
As a result of this restriction, Indian airlines like Air India and IndiGo have been forced to adopt longer alternative routes for flights to Europe, Central Asia, and North America.
Due to the inability to use the direct northern route, flights heading west and north now have to navigate over the Arabian Sea, passing through the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, or other alternative paths.
These longer routes necessitate that aircraft carry more fuel, which impacts the capacity for passengers or cargo.
The additional routing has imposed a financial burden of millions of rupees on airlines, which may reflect in future airfares.
Due to the ban on Pakistani airspace and ongoing tensions in West Asia, Indian airlines have occasionally had to temporarily suspend some international flights to Central Asian cities like Almaty and Tashkent.
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