Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE Suspend Flights to Pakistan

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates suspended on Wednesday flights to Pakistan after the South Asian nation closed its air space following heightened tensions with neighboring India.

Saudi Arabian Airlines said that it suspended flights until Pakistan reopens its airspace.

Bahrain’s Gulf Air said it had suspended all flights to and from Pakistan due to closure of airspace while low-cost carrier flydubai said it is reviewing its schedule.

Emirates and Etihad also said they had suspended some flights to Pakistan.

Airlines flying over India and Pakistan to Europe, the Middle East and Asia were disrupted and some flights were routed through Mumbai on India’s western coast, so they could head further south and avoid Pakistan air space, an Indian government official told Reuters.

India, earlier on Wednesday, shut several airports in the northern part of the country temporarily, leading to dozens of domestic flight cancellations after Pakistani warplanes crossed a disputed border into the Indian side of Kashmir.

Operations at the Indian airports have now resumed.

Pakistan carried out air strikes and shot down two Indian military jets on Wednesday, Pakistani officials said, a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting leading powers to urge both of the nuclear-armed countries to show restraint.