Pakistan Reverses Taiwan Airlines Airspace Ban in Abrupt U-Turn, Allows Flights Until March 2027

Photo: Shutterstock (file photo of an EVA Air aircraft)

Pakistan has reversed its ban on Taiwanese airlines in an abrupt U-turn, allowing China Airlines and EVA Air to use its airspace again from 28 October 2026 to 27 March 2027, just hours after reports that Islamabad had barred the carriers in support of China's One-China policy.

Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority has authorised the two Taiwanese carriers to fly over Pakistan for that period, according to Bloomberg, as reported by Bloom Pakistan. A second report, by Indrajit Global News, says documents reviewed by Pakistani media show the same authorisation running from 28 October through 27 March 2027.

Main News Report

The reversal came on the same day the ban itself was reported. On Wednesday morning, Business Recorder reported that Bloomberg had found Pakistan had shut its airspace to carriers from Taiwan, in what Bloomberg described as a first-of-its-kind move by any country.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Bloomberg that Pakistan's aviation division was following the One-China policy. "The aviation division follows the One China policy, only mainland China is allowed," he said. "We have permitted only Chinese airlines to fly over Pakistan."

Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24, cited by Bloomberg, showed that China Airlines and EVA Air had not flown over Pakistani airspace since the morning of 25 October. At least a dozen of their flights between Asia and Europe had travelled over Russia since Sunday instead. On 24 October alone, the two carriers had operated 14 flights that crossed Pakistan.

By Wednesday evening, that position had changed. The new authorisation means the two airlines can plan routes through Pakistani airspace again during the approved period, instead of relying on the longer Russian detour. Neither carrier had publicly commented on the restriction in the reports reviewed, and no detailed public explanation for the change was given in those reports.

Background Context

Pakistan has long backed Beijing's position on Taiwan. It describes Taiwan as an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China, opposes Taiwan independence, and severed official relations with Taiwan in 1951 in favour of closer ties with China. The One-China policy is a central part of Pakistan's foreign policy and its All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with China.

The ban, as first reported, was stricter than mainland China's own approach. Beijing itself allows Taiwanese airlines to use its airspace, a point noted in several of Wednesday's reports. Pakistan's move was therefore read as a practical step beyond diplomatic statements, extending its China policy into commercial aviation for the first time against specific carriers.

It also followed a pattern seen earlier this year with official flights. In April, Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar revoked overflight clearances for Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's aircraft on a planned trip to Eswatini, forcing the visit to be postponed. Those cases involved a presidential aircraft, not a blanket ban on commercial airlines, which is why Wednesday's reported ban drew wider attention.

Reactions and Statements

Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration did not comment directly on the rerouting, but said it had never prohibited its airlines from flying over Russian airspace. Taiwanese carriers had generally avoided Russian airspace since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which made the weekend detours over Russia notable in their own right.

In New Delhi, India's foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal was asked about direct India-Taiwan flights after the ban reports and said: "My sense is, if there are direct flights then they will fly." India has no direct air link with Taiwan at present, and the remark was widely read as a signal that Delhi was watching the episode closely.

There has been no detailed statement yet from Pakistan's aviation authorities explaining why the restriction was introduced, what prompted the new permission, or whether the authorisation carries conditions for particular routes. The reports reviewed also do not establish whether the original restriction was formally withdrawn through a separate public order, or whether the new approvals were issued through a different administrative process.

Why This News Matters

For most readers in Pakistan, this story is not about a flight they will take. It is about how Pakistan uses one of its most valuable assets, its airspace, and how quickly a diplomatic position can turn into a practical decision that affects airlines, routes and costs.

Pakistan sits on a busy corridor between East Asia and Europe. When a major airspace region closes to an airline, planners must find another way round, and the usual cost is longer flying time, more fuel and tighter schedules. The weekend reroutes over Russia showed that cost in real time, with at least a dozen flights taking the longer path in just a few days.

The U-turn matters for a second reason. A ban announced in the morning and effectively reversed by the evening leaves airlines, and other governments, unsure which position will hold. The permission runs to 27 March 2027, but the speed of the change means the real test is whether flights actually return to the Pakistan route in the coming days and stay there.

Future Developments

Watch flight-tracking data over the next few days. If China Airlines and EVA Air flights between Taipei and Europe start crossing Pakistan again, the reversal is working in practice. If they keep flying over Russia, the permission may exist on paper but not yet in the schedules.

Also watch for a formal statement from Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority or the aviation division. A clear order, with its conditions, would settle the questions the current reports leave open: why the ban came in, why it went out so fast, and whether anything changes before the March 2027 expiry date.

The wider question is diplomatic. Pakistan's One-China position has not changed, and the reversal does not signal a shift in that stance. What it may signal is that, when a diplomatic gesture starts to cost airlines real money and attention, the practical answer can arrive faster than the political one.

Sources

• Bloom Pakistan (Bloomberg): Pakistan reverses Taiwan airline ban, reopens airspace
• Indrajit Global News: Pakistan reverses Taiwan airspace decision, reopening route for major airlines
• Business Recorder (Bloomberg): One-China policy, Pakistan bars Taiwan carriers from airspace, report
• Dunya News: Pakistan closes airspace to Taiwanese airlines under One-China policy

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