A Bloomberg report said Pakistan had refused to let Taiwanese airlines cross its airspace, only for the decision to be reversed within hours. Taiwan's transport minister said airlines pick routes on time and cost, while the foreign ministry criticized the politicization of airspace.
Bloomberg reported on Oct. 28, citing sources, that Pakistan would not allow Taiwanese airlines to overfly its territory. According to the United Daily News, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif was quoted as saying aviation also follows the one-China policy and that only mainland Chinese carriers receive overflight permits. Bloomberg noted that Pakistan would be the first country to take such a step.
광고 문의 · 300×250Later the same day the picture changed. Citing Bloomberg, the United Daily News said a Pakistani civil aviation document dated Oct. 28 lets China Airlines and EVA Air use the airspace from Oct. 28 until March 27 next year. Bloomberg said it could not establish why the ban was lifted, and no official explanation from Islamabad could be confirmed in this reporting.
Taiwanese flights shift to Russian airspace
According to China Times and Flightradar24 data cited by Bloomberg, Taiwanese carriers have rerouted at least a dozen flights since Oct. 24 onto the northern route over Russia instead of the southern route through India, Pakistan and Turkmenistan. China Airlines flight CI75 (Taoyuan to Rome) was the first, and EVA Air flight BR88 (Paris to Taipei) also crossed Russia, though most EVA flights still use the southern route.
Taiwanese carriers had avoided Russian airspace for about four years since the war in Ukraine. The Civil Aeronautics Administration said it never banned flights over Russia. Prof. Lu Yen-liang of Chaoyang University of Technology explained that the southern route crosses more countries, adding permit requirements and navigation and control fees, while the northern route crosses fewer.
Taipei's position and interpretations
Transport Minister Chen Shih-kai, at a Legislative Yuan transportation committee session on Oct. 28, did not respond directly to the Pakistan reports. He said airlines choose the best route for safety and time costs, that the government respects their judgment, and that more carriers may use Russian routes in future. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the move as politicizing and weaponizing airspace and reiterated that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign, independent state never subordinate to the People's Republic of China.
Chong Ja Ian, a professor at the National University of Singapore, read the episode as Beijing trying to raise pressure on Taiwan through more countries, and recalled that three pro-Beijing African states refused overflight for President Lai Ching-te's plane in April on a trip to Eswatini. China's reaction to this case could not be confirmed in this reporting, and Pakistan has not said whether the change was a policy shift or an administrative error.
