LAHORE: For two hours on Thursday and Friday morning, a set of five air routes that cross the skies of central and western Punjab will be closed to all aircraft. The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) says the move is routine, and that alternative routes will keep traffic moving.
The PAA has issued a fresh Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) announcing the temporary closure of five designated air traffic service routes within the Lahore Flight Information Region (FIR). The closures apply on September 17 and 18, from 5:30am to 7:30am. The authority attributed the decision entirely to operational reasons and did not give further details.
The route closure follows a separate, longer-running restriction. A day earlier, the PAA extended Pakistan’s airspace ban on Indian aircraft by one more month, acting on the federal government’s instructions. The details are set out below.
The notice lists five route segments. Among them are the corridor linking Jhang with the Sajan reporting point and the route running from Rigat towards Dera Ismail Khan. Several other segments are also included.
A PAA spokesperson said the affected routes will be unavailable to all flights from ground level up to unlimited altitude during the closure window. In practical terms, no aircraft may use those corridors at any height for those two hours, whether it is a light aircraft or a wide-body jet cruising at 40,000 feet.
The authority stressed that the closure does not seal off the region. The spokesperson said alternative routes will stay open for traffic in both directions so that airlines and passengers face as little inconvenience as possible.
Flights arriving at or departing from Dera Ismail Khan face one additional requirement. Pilots operating those flights must contact Air Traffic Control (ATC) during the restricted period. This allows controllers to guide them through the available airspace while the Rigat–D.I. Khan corridor is closed.
The wording of the notice is familiar. Pakistan’s airspace is split into two flight information regions, Karachi and Lahore, and the PAA has repeatedly used short, time-bound route closures within them.
In July 2025, the authority closed selected routes in both FIRs for two days, again from ground level to unlimited altitude, citing unspecified operational reasons. That notice also set out the affected routes along with available alternatives.
A longer closure in March this year caused confusion online. Some outlets read it as a partial shutdown of Pakistani airspace, which the PAA rejected, insisting the airspace remained fully open for civil traffic. The authority described that notice as a routine operational advisory covering specific route segments during daily windows.
This week’s NOTAM is much narrower. It covers two mornings, two hours each, and a handful of corridors in one FIR.
The new notice is separate from two other aviation restrictions that Lahore travellers may have heard about recently.
The first was a seasonal runway curb at Allama Iqbal International Airport. Under that NOTAM, both runways were closed to routine operations from roughly 5am to 8am each day between July 5 and September 15, a measure intended to reduce bird-strike risk during the monsoon. That restriction has now expired. The latest closure concerns en-route airspace, not the airport’s runways.
The second is Pakistan’s ban on Indian aircraft. It has just been extended again and has nothing to do with the five-route closure.
Separately, the PAA issued a new NOTAM on Wednesday, September 16, extending the closure of Pakistani airspace to Indian aircraft. The extension took effect at 10:45am on Wednesday and runs until 4:59am on October 24, 2026, so the ban stays in force through October 23. The previous extension would have expired on September 24.
The restriction is broad. It bars all Indian-registered civil and military aircraft. It also covers aircraft leased by Indian operators, which closes off a possible workaround. The notice applies to both of Pakistan’s flight information regions, Karachi and Lahore.
The closure was first imposed on April 23, 2025, and the new notice is the 17th NOTAM issued to extend it. Islamabad introduced the ban after New Delhi suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following the deadly Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan for the attack. Islamabad rejected the allegation and called for an independent, transparent investigation. India responded by closing its own airspace to Pakistani airlines on April 30, 2025.
The costs have fallen unevenly. Indian carriers have had to fly longer routes. Air India estimated in a document submitted to Indian officials last October that the closure had raised its fuel costs by as much as 29 per cent, lengthened some long-haul journeys by up to three hours, and cost it about $455 million a year in profit before tax. Pakistan’s aviation sector, by comparison, has seen relatively limited disruption, according to sources.
For passengers flying from Lahore on Pakistani or foreign non-Indian airlines, the extension changes nothing. Their flights continue as normal.
Separately, Punjab authorities have also regulated low-level flying on the ground. The provincial government extended its ban on outdoor drone flights under Section 144 in August.
The effect should be limited. The closure falls in the early morning, lasts only two hours, and comes with alternative routes open in both directions.
Some flights that normally use the affected corridors may take slightly longer paths, which could add a few minutes of flying time or change planned fuel loads. Fuel costs are already a concern for carriers, since global oil prices have climbed amid tensions near the Strait of Hormuz. Even small detours add to operating costs.
Passengers booked on early-morning domestic flights on September 17 or 18, especially services linked to Dera Ismail Khan or routes over central Punjab, should check flight status directly with their airline before leaving for the airport. The PAA has not announced any cancellations linked to the notice.
The restriction is scheduled to lapse after 7:30am on September 18. Unless the PAA issues a further notice, the five routes will return to normal use after that.
The India ban is the next date to watch. Since April 2025 it has been renewed roughly a month at a time, so attention will turn to whether the PAA issues another NOTAM before the current one expires in the early hours of October 24.
In the past, the authority has quickly clarified or withdrawn notices when they caused public confusion. Airlines and travellers are advised to rely on official PAA channels and airline advisories rather than unverified social media claims about airspace closures.