How Closure of Pakistan Airspace for Indian flights will affect Indian passengers
ISLAMABAD: After imposing restrictions on Indian flights in Pakistani airspace, the Indian passengers will suffer huge financial losses, while the travelling time of the passengers will also be significantly increased.
India had announced tough measures against Pakistan after the attack on tourists in the tourist spot of Pahalgam in India-administered Kashmir on April 22, however, Pakistan’s National Security Committee responded to India’s announcements in more or less the same way on Thursday.
Pakistan has also imposed other restrictions, including a ban on the use of its airspace for Indian flights. after this announcement by Pakistan, the travel time of Indian passenger flights, especially those departing from the capital, New Delhi and northern cities, will increase.
Besides this, the fares of the airlines will also be likely increase by eight to 12 percent. Air India and Indigo have confirmed that the closure of Pakistan’s airspace will affect their flights departing from New Delhi and northern cities in terms of distance.
Other airlines, including Air India Express, Spice Jet and Akasa Air will also be affected by this closure. The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported, citing senior officials, that the flights of these companies will now have to take alternative routes via the Arabian Sea.
The ban announced by Pakistan will apply to all aircraft registered in India. This will include airlines owned by Indian companies as well as airlines leased by Indian operators. Now, airlines will require more fuel to fly over long distances, especially over the Arabian Sea, which will increase their operational and other expenses.
A senior pilot told that the duration of some flights from India to the US and Europe will increase by two to two and a half hour. A senior traffic controller said that the duration of their flights will change depending on the choice of various alternative routes by the airlines.
He said, “The scenario will become clear only after the airlines submit their new flight plans.”A senior travel industry official said that due to the closure of Pakistani airspace, the fares of Indian flights may increase by 8 to 12 percent. If the situation continues like this, the tickets will become expensive.”
Due to the longer routes of the planes, they will have to carry additional fuel, which will face challenges such as increasing operational costs and payload. For this, the airlines will have to keep the overall weight of the planes low.
In these circumstances, airlines, which are already operating with low profits will be severely affected. This is not the first time that Pakistan has closed its airspace to Indian flights.
After the Pulwama attack in 2019, when the Indian Air Force bombed the outskirts of the Pakistani city of Balakot, Pakistan also imposed a ban on India from using its airspace for a few months.
