Air India aircraft briefly enters Pakistani airspace despite ban

An Air India flight briefly entered Pakistani airspace despite Pakistan's airspace closure to Indian airlines since April 2025.

According to India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Air India flight AI479, which had departed from Delhi for Amritsar, entered Pakistani airspace during a go-around at the Amritsar airport on Monday night.

The DGCA said the event was coordinated with Pakistan's air traffic control authorities and that the aircraft later diverted back to Delhi, where it landed safely.

On Wednesday, the aviation regulator announced interim action against the Amritsar air traffic controller and the airline's operating crew for failing to report the incident. However, the DGCA did not disclose further details.

Air India said the matter has been reported to regulatory authorities and is also being investigated internally.

According to the DGCA, the aircraft, registered as VT-PPV, was instructed to remain in a holding pattern due to a runway inspection following a bird-strike incident. After returning to Delhi, the aircraft departed again nearly an hour later and successfully landed in Amritsar after 10pm.