The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in a response to India has said that aircraft carrying national leaders are considered as “state aircraft” and are not subject to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) on October 28, a day after India had taken up Pakistan’s denial of airspace use to Modi’s flight with the World Body.
India sought overflight clearance from Pakistan for the Prime Minister’s aircraft to go to Saudi Arabia on Monday, but Islamabad denied the request.
The ICAO spokesperson said that the Chicago Convention only applies to the operations of civilian aircraft and not to state or military aircraft. “The Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), only applies to the operations of civilian aircraft and not to State or military aircraft,” ICAO said in a statement.
ICAO is a body governed by the UN agency to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Its goal is to prevent friction and to promote cooperation among its 193 member nations in matters of civil aviation.
India reached out to the ICAO after Pakistan on October 26, refused to allow PM Modi’s aircraft in its airspace citing “ongoing grave human rights violations” in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The Indian Prime Minister wanted to use our airspace but we denied permission in the perspective of black day being observed by Kashmiris today to condemn Indian occupation and ongoing grave human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a statement on October 27.
PM Modi is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia for two days on Monday, where he will sign multiple agreements on energy, defence procurement and civil aviation.
Upon the refusal for allowing the airspace, India regretted Islamabad’s stand and said that overflight clearances for VVIP special flights were always granted by “any normal country”.
This is the third time in the past two months when Pakistan has not given permission for VVIP plane to use Pakistan’s airspace. Last month, Pakistan refused to give permission to Indian VVIP planes twice citing security clampdown in Jammu and Kashmir. On September 7, President Ram Nath Kovind’s flight to Iceland was not given permission to allow airspace.
Pakistan had closed its airspace after February’s border tension and eventually opened it up in phases. Effective 16 July, it had opened up its airspace fully for civilian aircraft.
