Pakistan\u2019s closure of its airspace to Indian airlines Thursday is forcing carriers to alter some routes that link India to Europe, North America, Central Asia and the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indian carriers \u2014 including Air India, IndiGo, Akasa Air and SpiceJet \u2014 must now fly longer, and thus costlier, flights on some westbound routes. <\/strong>The detour could push some flights to add a refueling stop or cancel certain routes altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IndiGo, the country\u2019s largest airline by market share, said it expects a few international flights to be affected, while Air India said some of its flights to or from North America, Europe and the Middle East will <\/strong>take an alternative extended route. Both statements were made last week on the social media platform X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Air India did not respond to CNBC\u2019s query regarding the number of routes affected. Indigo has stated that around 50 routes may be impacted, while flights to Almaty, Kazakhstan and Tashkent, Uzbekistan have been temporarily suspended<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The airspace closure comes amid tit-for-tat reactions from the nuclear-armed neighbors, following the killing of 26 tourists in the scenic town of Pahalgam in the northwestern India-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n India has linked the massacre to Pakistani militants, which Pakistan denies. Pakistan has called for a \u201cneutral\u201d probe<\/a> into the incident that has reignited tensions over the long-disputed territory claimed by both countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Air India flight A1101 from New Delhi to New York on Saturday stopped in Copenhagen to refuel, according to the global flight tracking service FlightRadar24. The flight, which is normally non-stop, arrived nearly six hours after its normal arrival time, according to its website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The same flight on Friday diverted to Vienna, arriving some four hours behind schedule, according to FlightRadar24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistan\u2019s restrictions may also make it harder for Indian carriers to compete with other airlines, which can continue to fly over Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The closure of Russia\u2019s airspace led some European airlines to reduce, and in some instances, withdraw services to China,<\/a> as the cost of flying around Russia was far higher for European carriers than for Chinese carriers, which were not subject to the restrictions. However, Russia \u2014 and its airspace \u2014 is significantly larger than Pakistan\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indian airlines operate the bulk of international flights in the country, with more than 9,000 international departures scheduled this month, according to the aviation analytics company Cirium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of these, Air India is scheduled to fly 519 flights to Europe, and 309 to North America, Cirium data showed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the airline \u201ccan overfly Russia to reach North America\u201d on some flights, a Cirium representative told CNBC Travel<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many flights that link northern Indian cities to the Middle East fly directly over Pakistan \u2013 a key region for Indian workers and leisure travelers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Half (49.3%) of outbound travel from India in 2023 was to the Middle East, according to the 2024 India Tourism Data Compendium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>New routes and refueling stops<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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