China cancels all flights to and from Pakistan in view of strains with India

Beijing: China has cancelled all flights to and from Pakistan and rerouted its international aircraft flying over the Pakistani airspace due to the regional tensions, official media here reported on Friday.

The closure of Pakistan's airspace in response to escalating tensions with India disrupted major routes between Europe and South East Asia and left thousands of air travellers stranded worldwide.

Flights from the Middle East that usually overfly Pakistan and the Pakistan-India border will have to re-route over India, Myanmar or central Asia to enter China, civil aviation experts told Global Times.

The Beijing Capital International Airport cancelled all flights to and from Pakistan on Wednesday and Thursday, including connecting flights, according to a statement sent to the Global Times by the North China Air Traffic Management Bureau.

Whether those flights will fly on Friday as scheduled is still unknown, state-run Global Times reported. The bureau said that 22 flights fly in and out of Pakistan every week, including two from Air China and other flights from Pakistan International Airlines.

China is taking positive measures to deal with international flights after Pakistan shut down its airspace, opening part of Chinese airspace for foreign airlines to re-route. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) immediately launched an emergency plan to notify domestic flight companies and cooperate with the air force to ensure the safety of flights and approve temporary flight plans.