Day 379: India's Airspace NOTAM Reaches May 24 Deadline — Mutual Closure Expected to Continue Amid Full Bilateral Freeze

May 24, 2026 marks Day 379 of the ceasefire and the expiry date of India's most recent NOTAM banning Pakistani aircraft from Indian airspace (Deccan Herald, Madhyamam Online). India had extended its ban to May 24; no airspace normalization is expected given the full bilateral freeze remains in force across all channels. Pakistan's Airports Authority had already issued a new NOTAM on May 19, 2026 extending its reciprocal ban on Indian aircraft to June 23/24, 2026 — the sixth consecutive renewal since the post-Pahalgam airspace closure began in April 2025. The mutual airspace bans have cost Indian carriers over $600 million in rerouting costs since April 2025, and Pakistan's aviation sector has lost trans-India route revenues and fees. Both countries' bans are a structural feature of the post-Sindoor bilateral freeze, which shows no signs of near-term resolution: all bilateral mechanisms remain severed (no ambassadors, $0 formal trade, Indus Waters Treaty suspended and legally disputed). The Al Jazeera report published May 23 on four back-channel meetings since the ceasefire offers the first concrete signal of informal India-Pakistan contact, but falls far short of any official engagement. No Line of Control incidents were reported on May 24.