Pahalgam attack: Indian carriers chalk out plans as Pak shuts airspace

Devise alternative routes for flights that currently fly over Pakistan

Pakistan on Thursday announced the closure of its airspace to Indian carriers, two days after a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K’s) Pahalgam killed 26 people, most of them tourists.

 

Executives from India’s leading airlines, particularly IndiGo and Air India, conducted internal meetings to devise alternative routes for their international flights that currently pass through Pakistani airspace. “The new flight paths, especially for services to Europe and the United States, will be longer and will increase our operating costs. Airfares will rise,” an airline executive told Business Standard.

 

Air India said on X that due to the airspace closure, some of its flights to or from North America, UK, Europe, and Middle East will take an alternative extended route. IndiGo said on X a “few” of its international flights were being impacted and affected passengers can rebook. 

 

A SpiceJet spokesperson said that the airline's flights to the UAE from North India will now operate via alternative routes. As a result, these flights will carry additional fuel to account for the longer flying time. However, the spokesperson clarified that there is no significant impact on SpiceJet's flight schedules.

 

The aforementioned airline executive said that Indian carriers faced a similar situation for about five months in 2019 after the Pulwama terror attack. "If the airspace remains closed for a comparable period, the financial impact could be significant,” the executive added.

 

The Pulwama terror attack on February 14, 2019, killed 40 CRPF personnel. In retaliation, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out airstrikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, on February 26. Pakistan responded by immediately closing its airspace to Indian carriers, a restriction that lasted for about five months and was lifted on July 16, 2019.

 

Indian carriers lost over ₹540 crore between February 26 and July 2, 2019, due to Pakistan's airspace closure, then Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had told the Rajya Sabha. Air India alone incurred losses of ₹491 crore, while private airlines SpiceJet, IndiGo, and GoAir lost ₹30.73 crore, ₹25.1 crore, and ₹2.1 crore, respectively, during that period.

 

The statement from Air India on July 16, 2019, gives an idea of the additional expenses the airline could face now due to the airspace closure. At that time, Air India had stated that its operational costs for one-way flights to the US and Europe were expected to decrease by ₹20 lakh and ₹5 lakh, respectively, with the reopening of Pakistani airspace.

 

"These additional costs (of ₹20 lakh per India-US flight and ₹5 lakh per India-Europe flight) were for the five-month period in 2019. They are going to be higher in 2025," an airline executive mentioned.

 

Rerouting could become more complex and costly as Indian carriers' international operations have expanded significantly from 2019 to 2025. According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, Air India now operates around 1,188 international flights per week, a 56.7 per cent increase from April 2019. Its India-Europe flights, many of which traverse Pakistan's airspace, have surged by about 80 per cent to 242 services per week. Similarly, its India-North America flights, also relying on Pakistan's airspace, have more than doubled to 144 per week.

 

Air India's low-cost subsidiary Air India Express now operates about 954 international flights per week, a 65.1 per cent rise since April 2019.

 

IndiGo operates 1,904 international flights per week, nearly 2.5 times the number it ran in April 2019. In February, IndiGo announced the acquisition of four B787-9 widebody aircraft on damp lease from Norse Atlantic Airways, with plans to launch India-Europe flights in the middle of the current summer season.

 

Last year, IndiGo, traditionally a low-cost carrier with narrow-body planes, revealed a shift in its business model. In May 2024, it placed a firm order for 30 Airbus A350-900 widebody aircraft, with an option for 70 more. Deliveries of these planes are set to begin in 2027.