INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
AMRITSAR: An Ahmedabad-bound IndiGo flight that took off from Amritsar at 7.45pm Saturday was forced to deviate from its flight path over
the Attari border and enter Pakistan airspace for around 30 minutes to skirt bad weather, the airline said on Sunday.Flight 6E-645's foray
into Pakistan airspace was "well-coordinated" by Amritsar ATC with Lahore, IndiGo said
"The crew was in continuous contact with Pakistan (ATC) and the flight landed in Ahmedabad safely." The Airbus A320neo flew till Gujranwala,
almost 100km from Lahore, before returning to Indian airspace safely
It isn't uncommon for aircraft from Pakistan and India to enter each other's airspace to combat adverse weather.Media reports in Pakistan,
citing flight radar data, said the aircraft entered north of Lahore around 7.30pm on Saturday and returned to India at 8.01pm."Pilots are
trained to make prompt decisions, based on prevailing weather conditions, particularly during monsoon or peak winters," an official at
Amritsar airport said.It isn't uncommon for aircraft from Pakistan and India to enter each other's airspace to combat adverse weather
Such diversions are handled through ATC coordination on either side
On May 4, Pakistan International Airlines' Muscat-Lahore flight PK 248 was unable to land at its destination in heavy rain
The Boeing 777 was diverted to Multan en route through Indian airspace.Indian flights to and from the West overfly Pakistan and airports in
the country are "designated diversion airfields" in the event of an aircraft being forced to change course due to technical and other
There have been several instances of Indian carriers diverting to Karachi
What Pakistan doesn't permit are international flights between J-K and the West to overfly its airspace
Whether it was erstwhile GoAir's international flights between Srinagar and the UAE or the Haj charter currently being operated by
SpiceJet from Srinagar, these flights are not cleared to overly Pakistan
They have to take a much longer route through Gujarat and then over the Arabian Sea without overflying Karachi airspace.(With inputs from
