Pakistan Briefly Bars Taiwanese Airlines From Its Airspace, Then Restores Overflight Rights Through March 2027

Pakistan closed its airspace to Taiwan-based airlines and reversed the decision within hours. Flight-tracking data cited by Bloomberg showed China Airlines and EVA Air avoiding Pakistani airspace from October 25. At least a dozen Asia–Europe flights were rerouted over Russia, while other services took longer southern routes.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, who also oversees aviation, told Bloomberg that the restriction reflected Islamabad's adherence to Beijing's One China policy. "We have permitted only Chinese airlines to fly over Pakistan," he said. Soon afterward, Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority restored overflight permissions for both Taiwanese carriers through March 27, 2027, the end of the regular winter aviation season. Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported that aviation authorities issued no formal notice announcing the restriction, leaving unclear how the decision was made and why it was reversed.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the One China principle is widely accepted internationally and that Taiwanese residents face no obstacles to international travel. Taiwanese officials suspect Beijing's involvement, although no evidence has emerged that China directly requested the ban. Taiwan's Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi told AFP that if China is behind it, using leverage over Global South countries would be a very bad practice, and warned that it could spread and threaten passenger safety and disrupt global supply chains.

Pakistan is one of China's closest strategic partners: China supplied 80 percent of Pakistan's major arms imports, and Islamabad has received roughly $25 billion in Chinese investment through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. An unnamed Western diplomat cited by Nikkei Asia suggested Islamabad may have sought to reassure Beijing of its loyalty on Taiwan as its relations with Washington warmed. In April, Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar withdrew overflight permissions for Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's planned trip to Eswatini; Taiwan accused Beijing of pressuring them.

Chinese commentators welcomed the move. Wang Zaixi, a former vice chairman of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, told Beijing Daily he believed more countries would adopt similar measures. Commentator Chen Zhengwei noted that even mainland China allows Taiwanese commercial airlines to use its airspace.

Overflight rights sit outside the commercial relationship between an airline and its customers. They are bilateral permissions, and a state can attach political conditions to them. Pakistan's episode shows how quickly such a condition can reshape flying: within a single day, long-haul services between Asia and Europe were pushed onto Russian airspace or onto longer southern tracks, with the cost and time penalties that implies for the carriers involved.

The April withdrawal of permissions by Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar for a presidential trip, together with this week's restriction, suggests a recurring toolkit rather than a one-off. Airlines and charter planners on Asia–Europe corridors typically hold contingency routings for conflict zones; the Pakistan case adds diplomatic alignment as a second reason those contingencies may be needed. The absence of any formal notice from Pakistani aviation authorities also means operators learned of the change from their own flight data, not from official channels.

The next fixed date is March 27, 2027, when the restored permissions for China Airlines and EVA Air run out with the winter season. Whether renewal follows without incident, and whether any further state moves to restrict Taiwanese carriers, as Wang Zaixi predicts, will show if this was an isolated episode or the start of a pattern.