Summary
- Indian airlines are rerouting flights to avoid Iranian airspace due to its conflict with Israel.
- Global carriers are also avoiding the risky airspace, adding to previous restrictions over Russia for many airlines.
- The longer routes could also result in airfare hikes in the days to come.
The Israel-Iran conflict has rendered large patches of airspace in the Middle East used by global carriers risky. Indian authorities have asked airlines to assess the airspace risk around the conflict zone and reroute their services to keep operations safe.
Rerouting flights
Indian airlines are now avoiding airspace over Iran for international flights amid the current conflict between Iran and Israel, as hundreds of missiles and attack drones have been seen in the area in recent days.
Photo: Abdul N Quraishi – Abs | Shutterstock
All airlines are affected, but Air India and Vistara, in particular, operate more long-haul routes than any other Indian airline and will likely have to reroute more flights. IndiGo also operates a long-haul flight to Istanbul in Turkey and is avoiding risky airspace.
Flight tracking app Flightradar24 shows the detours airlines are taking to avoid flying over Iran and are taking longer routes through Central Asia and the Arabian Peninsula (Air India’s Delhi-London route maps shown below – before and after the conflict). Airlines have also started issuing statements regarding the changes, with Vistara saying,
“Contingency routes, which are kept available to ensure operational continuity during such eventualities, are being used instead. This may result in longer flight times on certain routes and associated delays.”
Air India has also added that it will continue monitoring flight operations in the Middle East and consult with various safety and security organizations and regulatory bodies.
Emirates And Other UAE Airlines Cancel And Divert Flights As Conflict Closes Airspace
Services to Europe and North America are among the flights affected.
Longer flights, expensive tickets
A quick scan of flight tracking apps and websites will show the kind of impact that recent developments have had on flight durations. Flights departing for Europe are the most affected, with some US services also seeing a slight increase in travel time.
Fuel is one of the most expensive parts of any airline’s overall operational expense, and even adding 15–20 minutes on a regular basis can add up over time. This ultimately trickles down to passengers in the form of increased airfares.
Photo: viper-zero | Shutterstock
Flights to Europe and the US from India aren’t cheap to begin with, and any spike in airfare could affect the travel plans of many passengers. This is when many Indians are preparing to pack their bags for overseas destinations during the summer season.
Airlines must also be careful during route planning to prevent their crew from exceeding flight duty timings and avoid assigning additional relief crew in case of added duration.
Global effect
Indian airlines join a list of other global carriers avoiding risky airspace in the Middle East. The new restrictions add to the previous ones, including the massive stretches over Russia that are off-limits to many Western carriers due to its conflict with Ukraine.
In recent days, many airlines, such as Lufthansa, Qantas, and United Airlines, among others, have had to cancel or reroute flights because of new restrictions. Indian and Chinese carriers continue to use Russian airspace, but for many airlines in the West, the area of operations has been squeezed even further.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
World’s Airlines Continue To Navigate Route Disruption From Iran-Israel Conflict
Some airlines are continuing to reroute air traffic while others have resumed normal flights following Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
The tragic incident of Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17 being shot down by a surface-to-air missile is still fresh, and airlines have learned from that incident that they can never be too careful when navigating tricky airspace. As expensive and inconvenient as the reroutings are, airlines currently have no other choice.
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