How Indian airlines are losing crores after Pakistan closed its airspace

Bypassing Pakistani airspace is forcing Indian airlines to take longer routes and consume more fuel, pushing the estimated extra monthly cost beyond ₹307 crore

Flying international from North Indian cities will cost Indian airlines an extra ₹77 crore each week, as Pakistan has barred them from using its airspace.

 

Pakistan’s decision — triggered by India’s response to the recent terror attack in J&K’s Pahalgam — is forcing flights to take longer routes and burn more fuel. The total extra monthly cost could cross ₹307 crore, based on estimates of flight time, fuel, and other charges.

 

Flights taking off from New Delhi to international destinations are now taking longer than usual. A senior airline official told PTI, “The additional time for a 16-hour flight to North America will be around 1.5 hours.” That extra time comes with higher operational cost. 

 

 

Extra flying time increasing costs

 

For a North America flight, the added 1.5 hours can cost ₹29 lakh, including costs for technical halts. Flights to Europe with the same delay may cost about ₹22.5 lakh, and Middle East flights, which are delayed by around 45 minutes, may cost about ₹5 lakh each.

 

India’s airlines are expected to run over 6,000 international flights (one way) in April. Out of these, nearly 800 weekly flights are from north Indian cities to places like North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

 

According to a PTI analysis, 1,900 monthly flights, mostly to the Middle East, are operated by narrow-body aircraft, and the extra flying time adds up to ₹90 crore per month. Around 1,200 flights to Europe and North America, operated with wide-body planes, could cost around ₹306 crore per month in extra expenses.

 

Other challenges facing airlines

 

Besides higher fuel use, airlines now also face problems like limited crew flying time, fewer aircraft being available, and weight restrictions. On April 25, IndiGo said about 50 of its international routes will be affected and may see minor schedule changes. 

 

In a statement, the airline said, “With the same restrictions and limited rerouting options, unfortunately, Almaty and Tashkent are outside the operational range of IndiGo’s current fleet.”

 

Because of this, flights to Almaty are cancelled from April 27 to May 7, and flights to Tashkent are cancelled from April 28 to May 7.

 

Other airlines like Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air have not yet cancelled flights but are also affected. While Air India and IndiGo use large aircraft like B777s, B787s, and A350s, the others mostly operate smaller aircraft like A320s, A321s, and B737s.

 

[With inputs from PTI]