Jet carrying Tahawwur Rana avoided Pak airspace, but flew over it on way back

The chartered business jet transporting 26/11 attacks plotter Tahawwur Rana from the United States to Delhi avoided Pakistani airspace on Thursday and took a longer route to reach India. However, the Gulfstream G550 – a luxury ultra-long-range business jet – took the usual route over Pakistan during its return to the UAE.

Commercial and business chartered flights flying from the US to India and vice versa generally fly over Pakistan.

India and Pakistan had closed their airspaces in a tit-for-tat move in 2019 following a standoff over the terror attack in Pulwama, which killed 44 soldiers. However, both sides reopened their airspaces for civilian flights months later.