The effects of Pakistan's airspace closure have started to take a toll on Indian aviation, as the flight durations from India to Europe and the US have increased by several hours, resulting in higher fuel costs and subsequently, more expensive tickets.
Indian pilots are now forced to take longer routes to reach destinations in the US, Middle East and Europe. For instance, the route from New Delhi to the US becomes four hours longer as its flights divert to the Arabian Sea, instead of entering Pakistan via Lahore and fly westward.
Because of the longer flights, the fuel consumption of the planes has also increased which has also impacted the fares. Reportedly, the tickets for not only international flights but in some case of domestic flights have risen.
On Thursday, the high-powered National Security Committee (NSC) held an emergency session in Islamabad and took several measures in response to India's drastic move following the Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan.
India suspended the bilateral water treaty, shut the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, closed Attari border crossing, and downgraded the bilateral diplomatic relations. The NSC responded to these measures more strongly, suspending trade, and closing its airspace for Indian planes immediately.
Pakistan's airspace closure replicated the measure taken in 2019, after India's airstrike in Balakot, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). At that time, according to sources, the Pakistani airspace closure cost Indian airlines, mainly the Air India, more than Indian Rs700 billion.
The government has placed a complete ban on the Indian-owned and Indian-registered airlines from using the Pakistani airspace. According to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCCA) NOTAM [notice to airmen], the ban will also apply to all Indian military aircraft, including the leased ones.
According to sources, approximately 80 flights operated by Indian-owned or code-shared airlines pass through Pakistani territory on a daily basis under sharing or other agreements. However, the number exceeded to more than 100 flights on several occasions.
Because of the ban, flights from India to Central Asia, Western Europe, Western Asia, the UK and the US are being severely affected as they have to take alternative routes, which not only increases their fuel cost but also takes longer duration to reach the destination.
For example, Air India's flights have to take a 4-hour route via the Arabian Sea to avoid the Pakistani airspace. As a result, Air India and IndiGo's New York-Delhi flights had to be diverted. SpiceJet's flights on Amritsar-Dubai route also faced severe disruption.
Now Indian pilots are forced to fly longer. Due to the long durations, Indian airlines are forced to land in another country for refuelling before heading towards the US, Britain and other European destinations. Not only this, the duration of flights from Delhi to Baku and Tbilisi has also increased by 90 minutes.
According to reports, flights to and from Indian cities of Mumbai, Lucknow, Delhi and Goa and Ahmedabad are the most affected. Delhi-Almaty service has been stopped due to the closure for the Pakistani airspace. Indian passengers now prefer airlines from other countries.
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