BackUN aviation body seeks details from Pak on denial of airspace to Modi’s flight
India had taken up the matter with the ICAO as denial of airspace had led to the Prime Minister’s flight taking a detour on his way to Saudi ArabiaICAO’s Council President Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu 'has acknowledged the letter from India'
PremiumNEW DELHI : The International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) has sought information from Pakistan on the denial of airspace use to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special flight to Saudi Arabia on Monday.
India had taken up the matter with the ICAO as denial of airspace had led to the Prime Minister’s flight taking a detour on his way to Saudi Arabia, where he will attend an investor summit on Tuesday and hold bilateral meetings with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
ICAO’s Council President Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu “has acknowledged the letter from India and has sent an official request to Pakistan requesting further information", the UN aviation body informed Mint in response to an emailed query.
However, it is not clear if the discussions will lead to the possibility of special flights carrying Indian leaders accessing Pakistan airspace as the UN body only deals with civilian aircraft.
The Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), which ICAO helps governments to cooperate under, only applies to the operations of civilian aircraft and not to State or military aircraft, ICAO had said earlier in response to an emailed query from Mint. Flights carrying national leaders are considered state aircraft and are therefore not subject to ICAO provisions, according to the UN body. ICAO’s goal is to prevent friction and to promote cooperation among its 193 member nations in matters of civil aviation.
Pakistan’s denial of airspace to Modi’s special aircraft is indicative of the continued tension between the two Asian neighbours, after they had engaged in an aerial dogfight in February following a terror strike in Jammu & Kashmir that killed 40 paramilitary personnel. India’s recent decision to withdraw the special status granted to Jammu & Kashmir and to divide it into two territories to be ruled directly from Delhi has also irked Islamabad.
Pakistan had closed its airspace after February’s border tension and eventually opened it up in phases. Effective 16 July, it had opened up its airspace fully for civilian aircraft.
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