The Pakistan Airport Association (PAA) has said that the operations at Islamabad Airport will be resumed normally on March 16, 2026 (tomorrow).
In a post on X, the PAA said that the earlier notification regarding a two-hour suspension has been cancelled.
“The earlier NOTAM regarding temporary airspace restrictions in the Lahore Flight Information Region and suspension of flight operations at Islamabad International Airport on 16 March (08:30 – 10:30 AM PKT) has been cancelled. Normal operations will continue”, it said.
Update: The earlier NOTAM regarding temporary airspace restrictions in the Lahore Flight Information Region and suspension of flight operations at Islamabad International Airport on 16 March (08:30 – 10:30 AM PKT) has been cancelled. Normal operations will continue.
— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) March 15, 2026
The PAA had specified segments of Air Traffic Service (ATS) routes within the Lahore FIR that would not be available from ground to flight level 210 due to “operational reasons”.
Despite the Middle East crisis, the PAA said that Pakistan’s airspace remained “fully open, safe, and completely available for all civil aviation traffic”.
Fake news regarding the closure of Islamabad’s airspace
Recently, PAA clarified that reports circulating about the closure of Islamabad’s airspace are baseless.
“The public is advised not to pay attention to unverified or misleading reports and to rely on official sources of the Pakistan Airports Authority for authentic information”, reads the statement released by PAA.
This rumour was circulated after two drones detected adjacent to Rawalpindi were shot down by the Pakistan Air Force.
According to the officials, the drones were intercepted before they could cause any damage.
The incident prompted a swift response from defence forces monitoring the capital’s airspace.
The Ministry of Information posted on X that “two rudimentary drones of terrorist Fitna-al-Khawarij, nurtured by the Afghan Taliban regime, were successfully intercepted.
The information ministry said: “The Taliban regime’s claim includes no verifiable evidence, as always. However, [it] fully exposes its established role as master proxy of terrorism harbouring and supporting multiple terrorist organisations such as Indian proxies Fitna-al-Khawarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan.”
