Indian airlines, already barred from using Pakistani airspace, are facing severe disruptions amid the escalating situation in the Middle East.
According to the news agency Reuters, new airspace restrictions and the need for alternative flight routes due to the war in the Middle East have created additional challenges for Indian carriers.
Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows that India’s major international airlines, Air India and IndiGo, operated only 36% of their scheduled 1,230 flights to the Middle East, Europe and North America over the past 10 days.
It is worth noting that Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian aircraft in April last year following heightened tensions between the two countries.
Meanwhile, banking giant HSBC warned last week that the current geopolitical tensions in the Middle East would place significant pressure on the costs and profitability of Indian airlines.
The bank estimated that just seven days of flight cancellations to affected countries could reduce Indian airlines’ projected annual pre-tax profit by about 1.2%.
Although some flights have recently resumed, IndiGo is facing unique challenges. The airline relies on six long-haul Boeing aircraft leased from Norwegian airline Norse Atlantic Airways for its flights to Europe.
Since these aircraft are registered in Norway, they must comply with guidelines issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, which advises avoiding the airspace of Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
