After the Balakot airstrike in late February by the Indian military in northern Pakistan, the undeveloped nation has continued to restrict its airspace. The disruption costs largely for Pakistan as oil companies have now raised the fuel prices. It is noted that longer routes flights that are avoided to fly over Pakistan have made airlines to consume more money and fuel.
As fuel is 2.5% pricier, it will cost $700 per kilolitre in May for international flights. In comparison to last month, which was at $668. However, Pakistan’s airspace restrictions can stay till the mid of May. There are more reasons why a ban on Pakistan’s airspace has hit India’s airlines. Have a look-
Expenses Vary with Distance
As 400 flights per day are affected due to the cease of Pakistan’s airspace, few of the flights are rerouted. In addition, busy corridors in Iran have added more than 100 flights. Also, an addition of 451 kilometers is made to a flight from London to Singapore after taking the Oman route.
IndiGo
On March 20, the airline has launched its Delhi-Instanbul, the longest route. But, due to the closure of Pakistan airspace, the flight is going with a fueling stop instead of direct flight as planned initially. This forces IndiGo to burn an extra fuel of about 2,500-3,000 kg every way.
Air India
Air India is the most affected airline as it was the only Indian carrier that flew to the US and Europe. It may lead to another loss of 100 crores this month if the ban is not lifted. Air India has already under went revenue loss after a huge hit of 372-crore in extra expenses on curtailed or canceled flights, which means 6 crores daily.
SpiceJet
The availability of the airline’s flights between the Gulf and Delhi is extremely affected. The flights for the route Delhi-Kabul are canceled due to the ban of the Pakistan airspace.
However, the matter is still not clear whether Pakistan will remove its restriction from airspace or not.