CAA issues new air traffic directives

Flights must inform 15 mins before entering Pakistani airspace

KARACHI:

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Saturday issued a fresh directive, according to which 15 minutes prior notice was required for flights entering Pakistani airspace.

The new NOTAM has been issued in connection with the lack of air traffic coming from Afghanistan to Pakistan.

As per the CAA, air traffic service will only be provided to the flights entering Pakistan's airspace upon prior notification.

Flights arriving in Pakistani airspace will be serviced from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad area control centres.

Air traffic service will be provided to flights from Europe and Central Asia through Dushanbe and Islamabad area control air links.

Because of the unavailability of air traffic from Afghanistan, Islamabad and Dushanbe Flight Information Region will guide the flights to provide air service.

The new NOTAM will remain in place till the end of 2023.

As per a foreign publication, on July 25, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allowed high-altitude flights over Afghanistan.

It said that flights within the Afghanistan airspace at or above FL 320 (32,000 feet) were safe to pass through.

Since the US troops withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the Taliban took over the country, most airlines across the globe have been avoiding Afghan airspace.

This affected flights from Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent, to Europe and North America to take a longer route and consequently burn more fuel.

There’s concern among airlines about the safety of such operations, particularly about the presence of surface-to-air weaponry in Afghanistan. While the FAA has said that such missiles did not pose a threat to flights above 32,000 feet, airlines prefer caution over taking any risk.

“There's no ATC [air traffic control] service across the entire country, there's a seemingly endless list of surface-to-air weaponry they might start shooting at you if you fly too low, and if you have to divert, then good luck with the Taliban,” said the OPS Group, an organisation for the aviation industry.