The closure of Pakistan’s airspace following skirmishes with India has affected operations of several airlines, most notably of India. As a result, the air travel has become more expensive while several airlines have suspended or reduced flights. Pakistan closed its airspace to commercial flights originating in India or transiting through the Indian airspace after the Indian attack on Balakot forests on February 26. The attack destroyed nine pine trees.
Soon after, India was forced to shift some flights from New Delhi to Mumbai while international airlines cancelled several flights to India. “The closure of Pakistani airspace has led to a sharp increase in fares — by 40pc to 50pc for same-day bookings and, in some cases, up to 200pc for last-minute purchases, according to travel portals. Imports and exports have also become costlier as cargo planes too have to make lengthy detours,” says a report. The Air India flies 66 weekly flights to Europe and 33 to the US, and most of these flights use the Pakistani airspace. Nearly all of them have been affected. The losses to India’s airlines have alone crossed Rs700 crore or more mark while the closure has inspired great unease among the Indian aviation.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been forced to deploy more air traffic controllers at the Mumbai airport as the flights there have increased more than 50 percent while those from New Delhi have gone down. A report quoted an AAI official as saying that “flights from Iran, Iraq or the US used to come via Pakistani airspace, but they have now shifted to Muscat airspace and come from the Mumbai side. Some flights took just 60 minutes via Pakistani airspace but the travel time has now doubled.” It has been reported that 451 kilometres are added extra to a flight originating from London to Singapore after taking the Oman route.
26/05/19 The News
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Soon after, India was forced to shift some flights from New Delhi to Mumbai while international airlines cancelled several flights to India. “The closure of Pakistani airspace has led to a sharp increase in fares — by 40pc to 50pc for same-day bookings and, in some cases, up to 200pc for last-minute purchases, according to travel portals. Imports and exports have also become costlier as cargo planes too have to make lengthy detours,” says a report. The Air India flies 66 weekly flights to Europe and 33 to the US, and most of these flights use the Pakistani airspace. Nearly all of them have been affected. The losses to India’s airlines have alone crossed Rs700 crore or more mark while the closure has inspired great unease among the Indian aviation.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been forced to deploy more air traffic controllers at the Mumbai airport as the flights there have increased more than 50 percent while those from New Delhi have gone down. A report quoted an AAI official as saying that “flights from Iran, Iraq or the US used to come via Pakistani airspace, but they have now shifted to Muscat airspace and come from the Mumbai side. Some flights took just 60 minutes via Pakistani airspace but the travel time has now doubled.” It has been reported that 451 kilometres are added extra to a flight originating from London to Singapore after taking the Oman route.
26/05/19 The News
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