This was the most-tracked flight immediately after Operation Sindoor
At around 6:30am IST, aircraft tracking site FlightRadar24 shared an interesting image of a lone aircraft in Pakistani airspace. It was surprising as all commercial aircraft were clearing the space.
Qatar Airways, for example, issued an advisory saying that it had “temporarily suspended flights to Pakistan due to Pakistani airspace closure. The airline is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to prioritise the safety of its passengers and crew.”
The flight above Pakistan was ET672, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner originating from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, bound for Seoul, South Korea. When FlightRadar24 posted its position, it was southeast of Quetta. It would go on to pass over Peshawar and skirt Islamabad before turning east to pass above Skardu, Ladakh, and enter Chinese airspace.
A user who goes by the handle @ashu_sea asked chatbot Grok about how this flight path was possible when the airspace was closed. Grok replied: “Ethiopian Airlines is flying over Pakistan as the airspace is partially open, with specific airways restricted from 4:00 AM to 8:00 AM PKT daily until May 31, 2025.”
Another user commented that the western routes were open for aircraft.
The situation was interesting because earlier this week India had issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) saying that the Indian Air Force is set to conduct a two-day exercise on May 7 and 8 over Rajasthan and other areas close to the international border with Pakistan. The NOTAM issued by the Airports Authority of India highlighted the window from 3:30pm on May 7 to 9:30pm on May 8.
The comment section of FlightRadar24’s post on X lit up with interesting comments ranging from “That’s insane” to “The Captain must have balls the size of GEnx” to “He’s lost!” There was a collective digital sigh of relief when it finally entered Chinese airspace in the country’s Hotan province and then had an uneventful journey to its destination.
As this article is being written, the only flight above Pakistan is an Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner bound from Abu Dhabi, UAE, to Seoul, South Korea.
If you would like to watch the airspace, here’s where to do it:
https://www.flightradar24.com/ETD826/3a38cfb7
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