Pakistan reverses Taiwan airspace ban: How the ban would have changed global airspace and impacted air traffic

Pakistan reversed its reported ban on Taiwanese airlines using its airspace, granting China Airlines and EVA Airways permission to operate from October 28, 2026, to March 27, 2027. The initial restriction was attributed to Pakistan’s One China policy and had prompted flights to reroute.

Pakistan has made a U-turn and has now allowed Taiwan to use its airspace once again after initially banning the country from doing so on Wednesday, a report by Karachi-based daily Dawn has revealed.

The publication cited documents it had seen to reveal that the country's Taiwanese airlines China Airlines Ltd and Eva Airways Corp were granted operational permissions from 28 October, 2026 to 27 March, 2027.

The initial news of Pakistan barring Taiwan from its airspace due to its backing of the One China Policy was reported by Bloomberg. The publication also later reported on this development.

The initial report was based on Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif's statement to Bloomberg, in which he said, “The aviation division follows the One China policy — only mainland China is allowed," adding, “We have permitted only Chinese airlines to fly over Pakistan."

The Bloomberg report cited flight-tracking data to reveal that over the weekend Taiwanese airlines were rerouting their flights while avoiding the Pakistani airspace.

As per data by Flightradar24, at least 12 flights by the two aforementioned airlines had avoided the Pakistani airspace and flown over Russia.

What would have happened had the ban went through?

If the ban had gone through as per Khwaja Asif's claims, Taiwanese carriers headed towards the Middle East or Europe would have to routinely change their paths. They would either have to go over Russia or take a more southerly route through India and the Middle East (on their way to Europe).

Such diversions result in longer flight times depending on the on the destination and alternative corridor. In some cases, journeys could take longer by tens of minutes or several hours. The exact delay would vary by route; and every flight would not experience the same increase.

It would have also led to higher fuel consumption and costs and scheduling complications not only limited to the place of origin or the journey, but also in places where there were layovers.

Pakistan-Taiwan relationship history

After its independence in 1947, Pakistan kept a relationship with Taiwan till 1951. However, once China emerged as the bigger and more powerful country, Islamabad decided to side with Beijing instead of Taipei.

The two countries have not official embassy council, trade, or cultural centre. There were reports in 2019 that the textile industry of Taiwan was planning to shift their manufacturing to Pakistan from Vietnam as labour costs are cheaper in the country.