Pakistan's government is reversing course and lifting a recent ban on Taiwanese airlines flying through Pakistani airspace, Bloomberg reported, in a turnaround that comes only days after Islamabad became the first country reported to close its airspace to Taiwan's carriers in support of Beijing's One-China policy.

Source: Bloomberg via Sweden Herald / TT News Agency

Documents reviewed by Pakistani media indicate that the two Taiwanese carriers — China Airlines and EVA Airways — have been authorised to use Pakistani airspace from October 28 through March 27, 2027, according to reporting summarising those documents. No detailed public explanation for the change was available in the reports reviewed.

Source: Pakistani media documents, via Indrajit Global News

Oct 28 – Mar 27, 2027period China Airlines and EVA Airways are authorised to overfly Pakistan, per documents reviewed by Pakistani media
Oct 25date from which Flightradar24 data showed Taiwanese carriers avoiding Pakistani airspace
12+ flightsAsia–Europe services reported to have rerouted over Russia instead

How the ban was announced

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had set out the original policy to Bloomberg News: "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." The measure applied to Taiwan's two flag carriers, China Airlines Ltd and EVA Airways Corp.

According to flight-tracking data cited in the Bloomberg report and repeated by Dawn and Business Recorder, neither carrier had flown over Pakistan since the morning of October 25, and at least a dozen of their Asia–Europe services flew over Russia instead — airspace many airlines have avoided since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Why the reversal matters

The closure had been described as the first of its kind by any state, going further than Beijing's own practice: as Sweden Herald noted, Beijing claims Taiwan belongs to China under the One-China policy, yet still allows flights from Taiwan into Chinese airspace. Pakistan was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1951 and describes its ties with Beijing as an "all-weather" partnership.

India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, asked on Wednesday about planned direct flights between India and Taiwan in light of Pakistan's original decision, said: "My sense is, if there are direct flights, they will fly" — a comment made before the reversal was reported.

What happens next depends on whether the new permission holds for its full stated period to March 27, 2027. The reports reviewed gave no detailed official explanation for why the restriction was implemented in the form it was, or why it changed so quickly — questions the reversal itself now raises for airlines planning Asia–Europe schedules.