Pakistan lost $50 million from airspace restrictions: Aviation minister

Pakistan suffered a loss of over eight billion rupees ($50 million) from airspace restrictions imposedsince February, aviation minister said on Thursday.

"Over eight billion rupees worth of losses have been suffered by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority," Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Pakistan's aviation minister said in a press conference in Karachi.

Closed since February in the aftermath of Balakot strikes by India, Pakistan opened its airspace to international civil aviation on Tuesday.

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Pakistan lies in the middle of a vital aviation corridor and the airspace restrictions affected hundreds of commercial and cargo flights each day, adding to flight time for passengers and fuel costs for airlines.

Pakistan had closed its airspace in February after it launched an attack on Indian military installation in response to Indian strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps in Balakot on February 26.

The closure of Pakistani airspace had majorly impacted global air traffic especially the Afghans who were coming to India on a regular basis.

The Afghan aviation authority said that closure of Pakistani airspace had led to a loss of $ 27 million to Kabul in addition to disruption of passenger flights and India Afghanistan air corridor.

(With inputs from agencies)