Airlines on How Pakistan Airspace Closure Will Impact Operations

While much has been said about the strong momentum in India's aviation sector, the sudden closure of Pakistan's airspace throws a wrench in the works. With longer routes pushing up operating costs, airlines are now staring at slimmer margins, all while battling it out in an already cut-throat market.

The closure of Pakistan’s airspace to Indian airlines has affected operations of Indian carriers. Budget airline IndiGo has canceled its flights to Almaty in Kazakhstan and Tashkent in Uzbekistan till May 7 due to these restrictions and “limited rerouting options.” It added that these are outside the operational range of the carrier’s current fleet.

IndiGo also said that around 50 international routes operated by the airline will need to fly longer routes due to the development.

Full-service airline Air India also said it is expecting flights to or from North America, UK, Europe, and Middle East to take longer extended routes. SpiceJet also shared a similar advisory.

Low-cost airline Akasa Air, however, said that the closure of the airspace will not have any significant impact on its operations, likely due to its smaller network.

Civil Aviation Watchdog’s Advisory: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has advised Indian airlines to provide proper communication and in-flight catering services to passengers in view of the longer flying time of international flights.

The advisory focuses on five areas: pre-flight passenger communications, in-flight catering, medical preparedness and alternate aerodromes, customer service and support readiness, and intra- departmental coordination. It said that airlines have to ensure all passengers are “proactively” informed about the changes in routing and the revised total travel time, along with any possibility of a technical refueling stop and the procedures during such a stoppage.

They have also been asked to ca