NEW DELHI: Even as the airlines are grappling with the closure of airspace in Pakistan post the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, the closure of air space in Middle East countries has put enormous stress on them. Cancellation of flights or circuitous routes has become the norm since the closure of air space in the region commenced on June 13.
Air India officials said, “The closure of air space by Pakistan followed by Iran, Iraq and then Jordan has forced us to take a roundabout route via Egypt, which involves an additional 45 to 60 minutes travel for every flight. On the day the closure of air space was announced, we had to divert 16 flights when they were airborne.”
The official said, "We operate an average of 50 flights (inward and outward) daily from India to the US and Europe. All of them have to go down south and fly through Egyptian air space. It has definitely increased the turnaround time for all our flights."
Air India has flights to Vienna, Copenhagen, London, Zurich, Milan, Paris and Frankfurt in Europe. It also has flights to Los Angeles, Newark, New York and San Francisco in the US.
Making operations tougher are the stringent tests ordered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in the aftermath of the Ahmedabad flight accident. “These tests take anywhere between four and seven hours,” an official said.
Air India Express cancellations
Though its subsidiary Air India Express does not operate beyond Iran, it was also impacted because of the crowded airspace in Dubai.
An Air India Express spokesperson said, "We cancelled four flights totally today. We operate two pairs of flights daily between Mangaluru and Dubai. We cancelled one pair today. There was no other reason except the heavy congestion in the air space in Dubai. Due to the closure of the Iran air space, most international airlines are now flying through the Dubai airspace."
They are planned cancellations and the passenger are intimated in advance before they leave their homes, the spokesperson added.
Air India Express cancelled flights on Thursday between Sharjah and Kochi, Mangaluru and Dubai, Thiruvananthapuram and Dubai, and Sharjah and Indore.
IndiGo refused to reveal details about its cancellations or delayed flights and asked this reporter to speak to the Civil Aviation Ministry about it.
