Login Register
Follow Us

Rs 300-cr hole in Air India pocket as Pak airspace closes

NEW DELHI: Air India has suffered losses of around Rs 300 crore since late February as its long haul flights from New Delhi are taking longer to reach destinations in Europe, the Gulf and the US because of the closure of Pakistan’s airspace.

Show comments

New Delhi, April 28

Air India has suffered losses of around Rs 300 crore since late February as its long haul flights from New Delhi are taking longer to reach destinations in Europe, the Gulf and the US because of the closure of Pakistan’s airspace.

The Pakistani airspace has remained shut for traffic to and from India ever since hostilities broke out between the two countries after the Pulwama suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14.

With its aircraft operating from New Delhi spending longer time in air, Air India is incurring daily loss of Rs 6 crore on extra fuel burn, cabin staff expenses and reduced flights.

The national carrier has approached the Civil Aviation Ministry to ensure it is compensated for the loss given that the airline cannot pull out these flights due to various obligations.

“Air India has communicated to us about this. It is being taken up with all concerned,” a Ministry official said.

The Air India flights to the US from Delhi now take 2-3 hours extra one way due to the restrictions over Pakistani airspace. Flights to Europe are taking almost two hours more, resulting in financial loss.

The airspace closure following an air strike by the Indian Air Force on the Jaish-e-Mohamnad (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot on February 27 has affected most airlines from Europe and the US that operate flights to and from New Delhi.

Almost the entire air traffic from South East Asia to Europe has also been impacted as they would pass through north India into Pakistan and onwards.

American carrier United has temporarily suspended its Delhi-Newark flight and is monitoring the situation.

German flag carrier Lufthansa had said earlier that connections to Bangkok and Singapore would also be hit besides operations to India.

“We are already preparing adjusted routes and will increase the amount of additional fuel in the event of delays. Some traffic rights for the new routing must also be secured,” the airline had said on closure of Pakistani airspace.

An Air India official said that the airline has significant operations to Europe and North America and the diversion of flights due to closure of Pakistani airspace had so far caused a total loss of about Rs 300 crore.

“The losses on account of payload restriction and cancellation alone is about Rs 2.75 crore per day. The longer flying time has affected the duty hours of cabin staff and pilots,” he said.

“The other airlines have an option to pull out services in such situations but as the national carrier we cannot do so,” the official added. — IANS

Show comments
Show comments

Top News

View All

40-year-old Delhi man takes 200 flights in 110 days to steal jewellery from co-passengers, would assume dead brother’s identity

2 separate cases of theft were reported on separate flights in the past three months, after which a dedicated team from IGI Airport was formed to nab the culprits

Mother's Day Special: How region’s top cops, IAS officer strike a balance between work and motherhood

Punjab DGP Gurpreet, Himachal DGP Satwant, Chandigarh SSP Kanwardeep, Ferozepur SSP Saumya, IAS officer Amrit Singh open up on the struggles they face

Enduring magic of Surjit Patar: A tribute to Punjab’s beloved poet

A tribute to Punjab’s beloved poet, who passed away aged 79 in Ludhiana

Indian Air force rescues 2 NRI women tourists from forest of Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur

Local administration warns tourists not to venture on the Churdhar track without information

Most Read In 24 Hours