IndiGo's Manchester flight makes U-turn due to sudden airspace restriction

An IndiGo flight that departed from New Delhi for Manchester on Monday morning had to make a U-turn mid-air due to sudden airspace restrictions near the Eritrean border in Africa. The flight returned to the national capital at around 2:30 PM.

 

“Due to the evolving situation in and around the Middle East, some of our flights may take longer routes or experience diversions. Our flight 6E 033 operating from Delhi to Manchester had to return to its origin due to last-minute airspace restrictions, owing to the ongoing situation in West Asia,” an IndiGo spokesperson said.

 

“We are working with the relevant authorities to explore the possibilities of resuming the journey. As always, the safety and security of our customers, crew, and aircraft are of utmost importance to us,” the spokesperson added.

   

IndiGo’s Europe flights had not been operating since February 28, when the United States and Israel carried out military strikes on Iran, triggering a fresh conflict in the Middle East that led to the closure of large parts of the region’s airspace.

 

The airline said on March 7 that it would restart its Europe operations as airlines gradually restored schedules following disruptions caused by the evolving situation in West Asia and related airspace restrictions.

 

However, industry executives said IndiGo’s Europe flights — operated using Boeing 787 aircraft wet-leased from Norse Atlantic — are currently taking a longer route, flying south from Mumbai over Africa before crossing the Red Sea into Egypt. This has increased the flight time to around 10 hours and 30 minutes.

 

Norse Atlantic, a European airline, is avoiding Middle Eastern airspace following an advisory from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) asking European carriers to steer clear of the region.

 

IndiGo is also unable to use the Pakistan-Afghanistan corridor because Pakistan continues to bar Indian carriers from its airspace following Operation Sindoor last year.