Pakistan restores airspace access for Taiwanese airlines after brief suspension: report

Pakistan has renewed permits allowing Taiwanese airlines to use its airspace after briefly suspending access, with an EVA Air flight becoming the first Taiwanese commercial aircraft to cross the country since the restrictions, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

EVA Airways Corp. Flight 65, travelling from Taipei to Vienna, entered Pakistani airspace at around 3:30am Pakistan time on Thursday, the global financial media company said, citing Flightradar24 tracking data.

The permits were renewed by Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday and will remain valid until March 27, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.

However, other Europe-bound flights operated by EVA Air and China Airlines that departed late Wednesday and early Thursday continued to avoid Pakistani airspace, opting to fly over Russia or route through India, the report said.

Pakistan had restricted Taiwanese passenger and cargo flights from using its airspace over the weekend in a move linked to Islamabad’s support for Beijing’s One-China policy. The restrictions forced the airlines to reroute flights, including through Russian airspace.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif earlier told Bloomberg that Pakistan followed the One-China policy and had permitted only mainland Chinese airlines to fly over the country.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry condemned the restriction on Wednesday, accusing Islamabad of adopting Beijing’s position and using airspace access as leverage.

Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi told AFP on Thursday that Pakistan had closed and subsequently reopened its airspace to Taiwanese airlines. He also said Taipei suspected China had been behind the move.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, while Taiwan rejects Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over the island.

EVA Air declined to comment, while China Airlines had not immediately responded to Bloomberg’s request for comment.