New Delhi: Pakistan has denied use of its airspace to Go First’s Srinagar-Sharjah flight, the government officials said on Wednesday.
According to officials, Pakistan’s refusal on Tuesday forced the flight to take a longer route and fly over Gujarat to reach its destination in the UAE.
Go First, previously known as GoAir, had started direct flights between Srinagar and Sharjah from October 23 and the service was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to the Valley last month.
According to officials, till October 31, the flight was going through Pakistan airspace.
However, Pakistan on Tuesday did not allow the flight to pass through its airspace, and therefore, the service had to take a longer route, going over Gujarat, adding around 40 minutes to the flight time, they said.
There were no specific reasons given by the Pakistan government as yet for refusing the permission to the flight, officials said.
Officials said the flight, which operates four times a week, did not face any issue when it used Pakistan airspace between October 23 and October 31.
There was no immediate statement or comment from Go First on the matter. PTI
Plane had to fly over Gujarat on Tuesday added by Press Trust of India on
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