Indian airlines face extra hour of flying time as Pakistan shuts airspace | Mint

International flights by Air India, IndiGo, Spicejet and Akasa Air from India are likely to see an extra hour of flying time as Pakistan announced the immediate closure of its airspace to all Indian-owned and Indian-operated airlines on Thursday.

Pakistan issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) that read, “Pakistan airspace not available for indian registered aircraft and aircraft operated, owned and leased by Indian airlines.” The notice also covers military flights.

Flights of Indian airlines to or from North America, UK, Europe, and Middle East will be affected by this, but international airlines’ flights to or from India won’t be affected.

A senior industry official told Mint, “Flights will likely take a detour over the UAE to avoid Pakistan airspace, leading to at least one more hour of flying time.” 

Following the NOTAM, Air India, and IndiGo issued advisories to passengers, saying flights to or from North America, the UK, Europe, and the Middle East would take the longer route. 

Flights to and from the US, UK, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Dubai and Qatar, among others, will be affected. Pakistan had previously closed its airspace to Indian carriers in 2019 after India’s Balakot air strike. 

IndiGo said in its advisories that a few of its scheduled flights would be affected by the closure of Pakistan’s airspace. It also offered customers the option of rescheduling or claiming a refund. 

Ticket prices expected to increase

An additional hour of flying will increase Indian airlines’ fuel expenses and impact their financials. Mark D Martin, CEO of Martin Consulting, said international airfares would likely increase because of this. 

“Air India and IndiGo will be affected the most by this. By conservative estimates, we expect ticket prices to rise by a minimum of 35% to destinations in the middle east and by over 40% to destinations to Europe in addition to higher carbon emissions and fuel burn,” he said.

Sanjay Lazar, CEO of Avialaz Consultants, told Mint that Pakistan’s move was widely expected. “Indian airlines have faced this before, and flights will have to be rerouted over Iran and other areas. With additional fuel costs for long-haul international flights, Indian carriers and passengers will have be prepared for inconvenience,” said Lazar.

According to the United Nations’ aviation body, the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s guidelines (ICAO), a state can issue NOTAMs for temporary airspace restrictions for valid safety or security reasons. The guidelines also state, “If the NOTAM affects another country’s cross-border flights, bilateral coordination is expected.”

The Indian government has announced the suspension of visa services for Pakistani nationals with immediate effect. Medical visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be valid until 29 April.