ISLAMABAD - Amid some media reports that some airlines have been instructed to fly high in Pakistan’ airspace to avoid any kind of terrorism attack, Prime Minister’s Aviation Advisor Shujaat Azeem on Friday said that planes flying over Pakistan’s airspace have not altered their flight paths following the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) precautionary advisory. “The warning, which was originally issued last year by the Direction Générale de L’aviation Civile (DGAC)-France, has had no effect on the air traffic,” he added. “I have spoken to both European and French authorities and their mission representative here, it was a routine matter and not an advisory specifically related to us,” he said.
Azeem’s comments came after an EASA advisory dated January 22 warned air carriers against flying below 24,000 feet when cruising over Pakistan. Since a Malaysian-registered aircraft was shot down over Ukraine in July 2014, authorities have been releasing warnings for conflict zones such as Syria, Ukraine and Iraq, added Azeem.
Planes flying over Iraq and Pakistan have come under small arms fire in recent months putting both, air crafts and passengers on board, at risk. However, these attacks have taken place on planes as they flew low while landing. “No airline has changed its flight path. There has been no drop in air traffic,” he added.
A statement issued by CAA said that every day around 1,200 planes fly over Pakistani air space at different altitudes and routes. Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it has not restricted airlines from any specific altitude due to safety concerns. “Therefore, issuance of any such guidance by any authority or doubt on the safety of Pakistan air space is, therefore, absolutely baseless,” statement added.
A number of European airlines do not fly to Pakistan anymore. British Airways and Germany’s Lufthansa were the last carriers to pull out, mostly due to their internal financial constraints and focus on more lucrative routes.