Pakistan has closed its airspace to Indian flights amid rising bilateral tensions after a deadly attack in the Kashmir Valley. The move has had a major impact on Indian civil and military aviation. Experts say it could cost India's aviation sector billions of dollars in economic losses.

The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said in a notice that the ban, effective from April 24, will remain in place until further notice. The ban will apply not only to Indian-registered aircraft but also to aircraft from other countries chartered by Indian companies.

Pakistani media house ARY News reported that due to the closure of airspace, Indian flights are having to change routes and take an extra two hours to fly. This is costing them extra fuel, crew management and passenger service costs every day. It is estimated that this is costing millions of dollars every day.

Major Indian airlines Air India, IndiGo, Aditya Jet, Air India Express and Akasa Air all use Pakistani airspace. In the past, the restrictions cost Indian airlines around $80 million.

Flights from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, one of the world’s busiest, to Europe and the Middle East usually use Pakistani airspace to reach their destinations faster. Now, the rerouting is adding an hour or more to the journey. This not only increases fuel costs, but also means that the number of passengers and cargo on board has to be reduced to balance the situation.

“A flight from New Delhi to Dubai or Tehran now takes more than an hour. This means we are using more fuel to reach the same destination and carrying fewer passengers,” an Indian aviation official told Reuters in an interview.

According to flight tracking service FlightAware, an IndiGo flight from New Delhi to Baku took 5 hours and 43 minutes. Although this route is usually shorter, the plane had to go to Azerbaijan via Gujarat, the Arabian Sea and Iran.

Analysts say that this decision by Pakistan on the one hand has further complicated bilateral diplomatic relations, on the other hand it could have a long-term negative impact on India's aviation sector and economy.

The longer the commercially important Europe-India flight corridor, the higher the fares are bound to be, which will also affect passengers. This is also likely to affect India's tourism and cargo transport sectors.

Analysts have called for a reduction in bilateral tensions and a return to the path of diplomatic solutions. If the dispute between the two nuclear-armed South Asian countries escalates further, it will threaten the stability of the entire region.