The Pakistan government on Wednesday said that the airspace will not be allowed for flights from Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar to Sharjah.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, “Pakistan did the same thing with the Air India Express flight from Srinagar to Dubai in 2009-2010. I had hoped that Go First being permitted to overfly Pak airspace was indicative of a thaw in relations, but alas, that wasn’t to be.”
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special VVIP flight, en route to Italy for the G20 Summit, flew over the Pakistani airspace and the aircraft will use it again on its return journey after getting formal permission from Islamabad, according to a media report.
Prime Minister Modi’s plane Boeing 777, 300ER, K7066 entered the Pakistani airspace from Bahawalpur, passed through Turbat and Panjgur and via Iran and Turkey reached Italy.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sources, Indian authorities had requested Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for permission to use the airspace for Modi’s special flight.
Pakistan accepted the request, allowing the Indian prime minister to fly through its airspace.