Pakistan Reverses Taiwanese Airspace Ban Within Hours

Pakistan restored overflight rights to Taiwan's two major carriers within hours of blocking them, becoming the first country reported to have imposed — and then reversed — such a restriction on the airlines.

The episode began earlier this week when Islamabad prevented China Airlines Ltd and EVA Airways Corp from entering its airspace, reportedly in line with Beijing's 'One China' policy. The ban lasted only hours before Pakistani authorities reinstated the permissions, according to a report by Page3news, a multilingual newspaper based in Thailand.

The reversal didn't calm Taipei. Taiwan's Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi suggested China could have influenced Islamabad's decision and warned the move could send a dangerous message to the international community. He offered no evidence for the claim of Chinese involvement.

What did Taiwan's government say?

Taiwan's Cabinet went further than its foreign ministry. Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee told a Cabinet news conference that the government "deeply regretted" Pakistan's brief closure, and her framing was blunt.

"We deeply regret Pakistan's behavior, including pandering to China by compromising flight safety, disregarding international rules and reality, undermining our national sovereignty, and politicizing and weaponizing airspace," Lee said, as quoted by the Taipei Times.

The words "weaponizing airspace" mark how Taipei read a restriction that, on paper, lasted less than a day.

What explains Pakistan's position?

Pakistan's own defence ministry offered the clearest explanation of the original restriction. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Bloomberg News that Islamabad had permitted only Chinese airlines to fly over the country.

"The aviation division follows the 'One China policy' — only mainland China is allowed," Asif said, in comments quoted by the leading Pakistani daily Dawn.

That statement sits awkwardly beside the subsequent restoration of rights for the two Taiwanese carriers, and neither Pakistani official has publicly reconciled the two positions.

What did the restriction cost the carriers?

Flight-tracking data cited in the reports shows the operational impact: Taiwanese carriers rerouted their flights and avoided Pakistani airspace entirely between October 25 and 28.

The affected operations were not marginal. China Airlines and EVA Airways ran at least a dozen flights between Asia and Europe in that window — flights that overflew Russia rather than taking Pakistani routings. For long-haul Asia–Europe services, avoiding Pakistani airspace forces detours that add fuel burn and flight time, which is why even a 72-hour closure carries a real cost.

The disruption is now formally over. Pakistani authorities have granted both carriers permission to operate from October 28 through March 27, 2027 — a window long enough to suggest the closure won't recur in the near term, whatever the defence minister's stated policy.

Why does a hours-long ban matter?

Three reasons. First, Pakistan appears to be the first country reported to have restricted the two Taiwanese carriers at all, even briefly, which sets a precedent other states could copy. Second, the episode puts overflight permissions — normally routine technical approvals — into the space of diplomatic leverage, as Taipei's "weaponizing airspace" charge makes explicit. Third, the gap between Asif's stated policy and the actual restoration of rights leaves open the question of which Pakistan — the one following 'One China' strictly, or the one issuing permits to 2027 — prevails the next time Beijing applies pressure.

With permissions now running to March 2027, Taiwanese carriers have scheduling certainty. Whether Islamabad's aviation division holds that line under future diplomatic pressure from either capital is the question the episode leaves unanswered.