The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has advised airlines not to fly below FL 260 altitude while flying over Lahore and Karachi due to the “current security situation in Pakistan”. EASA in its latest advisory noted that “there is a continued possible threat to civil aviation resulting in a high risk to operation at altitudes below FL 260”. It said: “Additionally, Kashmir region remains the site of territorial dispute with sporadic military operations posing a potential inadvertent risk to civil aviation due to a potential risk for misidentification in case of military escalation, particularly in the FIR Lahore (OPLR).” EASA has advised air operators to take this information and any other relevant information into account in their own risk assessments, alongside any available guidance or directions from their national authority as appropriate. Meanwhile, Aircraft Owners and Operators Association of Pakistan
rejected the EU’s advisory.—NNI
