NEW DELHI: Airspace restrictions in the Middle East amid the Iran war have dealt another setback to Indian airlines, which rely heavily on the region as a key corridor for flights to Europe and the United States, especially after Pakistan banned Indian carriers from its airspace last year. With the ongoing conflict forcing flight rescheduling and re-routing, Indian airlines now have limited options because they are unable to fly over Pakistan as well.
Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows that the countryās largest international carriers, Air India and IndiGo, did not operate 64% of their 1,230 scheduled flights to the Middle East, Europe and North America over the past 10 days.
Aviation expert Amit Mittal described the situation as a ādouble whammyā for Indian airlines operating international routes. Pakistan imposed the airspace ban on Indian carriers last April following military tensions between the two countries.
Last week, HSBC warned that current geopolitical tensions in the Middle East would place a āsignificant burdenā on the cost and profitability of Indian airlines.
The bank estimated that seven days of cancellations to affected regions could reduce its annual profit-before-tax forecast for the airlines by about 1.2%.While some routes have resumed in recent days, IndiGo is facing additional operational challenges.
The airline relies on six long-range Boeing aircraft leased from Norse Atlantic Airways to operate flights to Europe. Because the planes remain registered in Norway, they must comply with a European Union Aviation Safety Agency advisory instructing airlines to avoid the airspace of Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. As a result, IndiGo has been forced to take longer routes via Africa, increasing flight times by up to two hours in some cases, according to Flightradar24.
However, these routes have also faced complications. An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Manchester was forced to return to Delhi on Sunday after air traffic control in Eritrea denied airspace access due to confusion over the use of a Norse-registered aircraft by IndiGo, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The aircraft had been in the air for 13 hours before turning back. IndiGo later said the incident occurred due to ālast-minute airspace restrictions.āAnother IndiGo Boeing aircraft flying from London to Mumbai encountered a similar issue with Eritrea and had to divert to Cairo on Monday, the source added.
The disruptions add to the challenges faced by IndiGo, whose chief executive Pieter Elbers stepped down on Tuesday following an operational crisis that had drawn public and government scrutiny in December.
IndiGo and Air India did not respond to Reutersā requests for comment, while Norse referred queries to IndiGo.
Air India, meanwhile, announced on Monday that it would operate 78 additional flights between India and destinations in Europe and the United States over the next week to meet rising demand during the Iran conflict.
However, the airline is now experiencing significantly longer flight times as it is forced to add stopovers, giving competitors such as Lufthansa and American Airlines an advantage on some routes.
On Monday, an Air India flight from Delhi to New York stopped in Rome, extending the journey time to nearly 22 hours, according to Flightradar24. Before the Iran war, the airline could fly through Iraq and Turkey and reach the United States in about 17 hours without any stop.By comparison, an American Airlines flight on the same route on Sunday took around 16 hours while flying over Pakistan.
Air India, owned by the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, has previously forecast that Pakistanās airspace ban could cost it about $600 million annually. The airline, which was privatised by the Indian government in 2022, reported losses of $433 million last year.
Longer flight routes mean higher fuel consumption, further increasing costs at a time when airlines are already facing rising jet fuel prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
