Will take 2-3 days for scheduling flights over Pakistan airspace: Air India official

Air India on Tuesday indicated that it will take two to three days for scheduling flights over Pakistan which has lifted all curbs on flying over its air space.

"We are looking into the matter. It will take two to three days for scheduling to use Pakistani airspace," an Air India official said.

For the first time since February's Balakot strike, Pakistan fully operationalised its airspace for civilian traffic, bringing a huge relief for the airlines which had to take long and costly detours to avoid the Pakistani air space.

"With immediate effect, Pakistan airspace is open for all type of civilian traffic on published ATS routes," read a notice to airmen (NOTAM) issued by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority.

In a tweet, the Ministry of Civil Aviation in New Delhi termed the move a "great news" and a "big relief to air passengers".

Pakistan had earlier claimed that it would not open its airspace for commercial flights until India removed its fighter jets from forwarding Indian airbases.

Pakistan had fully shut its airspace on the eastern border with India after the Indian Air Force had carried out airstrikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot on February 26.

The strikes on the terror camp were in response to the JeM-perpetrated terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14 in which 40 CRPF personnel had lost their lives.

In mid-April, Pakistan opened one of its 11 air routes for west-bound flights from India -- airlines like Air India and Turkish Airlines have started using it.

In March, the neighbouring country partially opened its airspace but did not allow Indian flights to fly over its airspace.