Pakistan airspace closure disrupts over 800 Indian flights weekly; fares to rise by 8–12%

Over 800 Indian flights are expected to be affected by Pakistan’s decision to block its airspace for Indian airlines. The initial impact has already become visible as flights to West Asia, the Caucasus, Europe, the UK, and North America’s eastern region from northern Indian airports begin taking longer routes to avoid Pakistani airspace. These adjustments have added extra time, ranging from 15 minutes to a few hours, to the journey.

Which airlines are most affected?

All major Indian airlines operate international flights to the west of India, and many of these flights regularly flew over Pakistan.

Air India flies to West Asia, Europe, the UK, and North America.

IndiGo flies to West Asia, Turkey, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Air India Express, Akasa Air, and SpiceJet mainly fly west to destinations in West Asia.

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Most of the flights affected originate from four Indian airports: Delhi, Amritsar, Jaipur, and Lucknow.

Over 800 flights affected

According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, over 400 flights fly weekly from these four airports towards the West. Since these flights also have return legs, the total number of flights goes up to 800. Of these 800, 640 are linked to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport, India’s largest.

Another major impact of Pakistan’s decision is that some flights will now have to stop midway for refuelling, which were otherwise non-stop.

Flight tracking data shows that some of Air India’s ultra-long flights to and from North America had to stop for refueling or crew changes at European airports like Copenhagen and Vienna on Friday (April 25).

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Meanwhile, the Delhi-Washington and Delhi-New York flights stopped in Vienna.

Flights like Delhi-Chicago, Delhi-Toronto, Delhi-Newark, Mumbai-New York, and Vancouver-Delhi made stops in Copenhagen.

Past experiences

This is not the first time that Pakistan has shut its airspace for Indian flights. Pakistan last closed its airspace in February 2019 for several months, following the Indian Air Force’s air strikes in Balakot in retaliation for the Pulwama terror attack.

During this period, Indian airlines experienced losses of approximately Rs 700 crore due to increased fuel costs and the operational challenges associated with longer flight routes.

Air India was the most affected carrier, as it operated more west-bound international flights than other airlines, according to The Indian Express.

Ticket cost to go up by 8-12%

Analysts have predicted an eight to 12 per cent hike in ticket prices for the affected flights.

A senior travel industry executive told PTI that airfares for international flights with Indian carriers could rise by 8–12 per cent due to the airspace closure. If the situation continues, fares could increase even further.