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With Pakistan imposing a ban on flights over its air space for both India-registered airlines and also international carriers, passengers will have to brace themselves for longer hauls and perhaps some cancellations. At the moment, this ban is in force till the midnight of February 28 and there is no clarity on whether it will be extended.
There is also no clarity on whether India will place a similar ban on Pakistan-registered aircraft flying over Indian air space.
As a result of the ban over the Pakistani air space as also over parts of Afghanistan’s air space, Indian carriers’ flights from Delhi and Mumbai to and from Europe and America are likely to add about 90-120 minutes to their flying time.
A spokesperson for Air India said inbound and outbound flights from US and Europe to Delhi are being rerouted through Ahmedabad and Mumbai. “Flights landing into India from the US and Europe are being diverted to Dubai and Sharjah due to technical requirements and will land with a delay,” the spokesperson said adding that while no flight had been cancelled there will be an increase in flying time.
The sudden closure of Pakistani air space on Wednesday meant that three flights operated by Air India from the US to Delhi had to make a technical stop in Dubai to refuel before continuing their journey over Mumbai to Delhi. In normal circumstances, these aircraft would have flown over Afghanistan and Pakistan and entered India over Amritsar close to Lahore.
The normal route is flying over Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Gulf and into Europe for Europe bound flights, while the US and Canada bound flights turn down from Scandinavia which is the shortest route to that region.
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways is one of several global airlines that has advised its passengers that due to the air space being closed over Pakistan its flights to destinations in the region may “experience delays as they divert around the closed air space”.
United Airlines cancelled its flight from Delhi though the reason for the cancellation was not immediately available. While there was no word from the airline, travel agents said that the flight coming from the US to Delhi was being terminated in Europe on Wednesday.
Singapore flights
A spokesperson for Singapore Airlines said its Singapore to London flight on Wednesday will stop in Mumbai for refuelling before proceeding to London. Singapore Airline’s flight to Frankfurt will also stop in Mumbai for refuelling before proceeding to Frankfurt on Wednesday, provided it is able to arrive in Frankfurt before the airport's curfew.
With a wide-body Boeing 777 consuming about 8 tonnes of fuel for an hour of flying, a Boeing 787 consuming about 5-6 tonnes of fuel for an hour of flying and a narrow body Boeing 737 MAX or Airbus A 320 New Engine Option consuming 2 tonnes of fuel for an hour of flying, carriers’ cost of operations between India and the US and Europe are also likely to increase.
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