Pakistan has opened up new air routes to overflight traffic from China and India, as part of a wider effort to ease growing congestion between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
The two new bi-direction routes, G325 and G326, came into effect from 6 November under a notification issued by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. The routes are intended to form part of the planned new CNS/ATM future air-navigation (FANS) network between China, the central Asian states, the Middle East and the Far East.
Route G325 enters and leaves Pakistan at Purpa on the north-eastern border with China, overflying Gilgit, Peshawar, Zhob and Kalat, before crossing into Iran at Gasir to the south-west. Route G326 extends from Ramsa on the Pakistan-India border, over Nawabshah, and north to Zhob on the border with Afghanistan.
According to CAA ATS consultant Grp Capt Rana, G325 is intended to connect with the new V500 route, which limits overflights of war-torn Afghanistan to the 22km (12nm)-wide Wakhan corridor between Pakistan and Tajikistan, avoiding Kabul to the west. V500 then passes through Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
The International Air Transport Association's Asia Pacific regional co-ordination group has been instrumental in the opening of G325/326 and reaching an agreement with Afghanistan's waring factions to safeguard V500.
Westbound traffic to Europe will also be able to pass through Pakistan on G326 from India to Afghanistan and on to Iran via route G202 which, in turn, connects at Nashar to R660 for flights over Turkey or R794 to the north over the Caspian Sea. G202 is intended to form the basis of the first two yet-to-be-designated CNS/ATM routes which Iran has agreed to open in 1998.
Source: Flight International
