Summary The restrictions are reportedly stricter than mainland China’s approach, as Beijing allows Taiwanese airlines to use its airspace
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Pakistan has completely barred Taiwanese airlines from using its airspace in a move Islamabad says aligns with China’s One-China policy, potentially increasing flight times and operating costs for carriers travelling between Asia and Europe.
Defence and Aviation Minister Khawaja Asif told a foreign news outlet that Pakistan’s aviation division was implementing the policy, under which only mainland Chinese airlines were permitted to fly over Pakistani territory.
According to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24, Taiwan’s China Airlines Ltd and EVA Airways Corp began rerouting flights last weekend and stopped using Pakistani airspace entirely from the morning of October 25.
Since Sunday, at least a dozen flights operated by the two carriers between Asia and Europe have flown over Russia, the data showed.
Pakistan has denied carriers from Taiwan access to its airspace in support of Beijing’s One-China policy, the first move of its kind by any country. Full story: https://t.co/2WDTeJIM9l : I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg https://t.co/8MyAedd844
— Bloomberg (@business) October 28, 2026
Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration did not comment on the rerouting but said it had never prohibited its airlines from flying over Russia.
Although Taiwanese carriers had generally avoided Russian airspace following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, they had relied heavily on Pakistan’s airspace for Europe-bound services.
On October 24 alone, 14 flights operated by the two airlines crossed Pakistan.
The restrictions are reportedly stricter than mainland China’s approach, as Beijing allows Taiwanese airlines to use its airspace.
Longer alternative routes could add several hours to journeys, significantly increasing jet fuel consumption and placing additional financial pressure on the carriers.
