The suspension of India in the Industry Water Treaty has increased tensions with Pakistan, which prompted Islamabad to close its airspace towards Indian flights.
Airlines have told BT that this closure would have a significant impact on flight periods, the paths and costs of the services of India to Europe, North America and the Middle East.
“Theft journeys and durations to Europe and the United States will pass from India due to the closure of Pakistani airspace. We are currently exploring alternative routes. The main centers like Delhi and Mumbai will see significant disruption in outgoing flights to Europe and North America. In addition, some flights to the Middle East will also be impacted.
Indigo and Air India have already alerted passengers from possible disturbances, indicating via art items that certain international flights will face changes due to the “alternative extended route”.
Akasa Air, closely monitoring the situation, said that he had proactively decided to redirect the flights which generally pass a Pakistani airspace. “We do not expect any significant impact on our operations and will not cause any inconvenience to our passengers,” said the airline.
Indigo has confirmed that “some of our international flights are affected” and offers passengers options or flexible reimbursements.
Air India noted that several flights to North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East would take longer routes.
Industry sources point out that longer journeys mean an increase in higher fuel consumption and operational costs, which has potentially led airlines to increase prices in the coming days.
What happened in 2019?
During the closure of Balakot 2019 airspace, Airlines collectively lost around 700 crores, with passengers faced with price hikes ranging from 8% to 40%.
The flights currently taking off from key centers like Delhi and Mumbai should be particularly affected, with prolonged routes via Gujarat or Maharashtra before heading west, adding drawbacks for travelers and operational tension for carriers.
