Pakistan airspace closure forces Indian flights to reroute over Arabian Sea

NEW DELHI: With Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian flights, routes to North America, the UK, Europe, and the Middle East are now longer. As a result, passengers will face longer travel times and delayed arrivals. Though airfares are expected to rise, airlines hadn’t made any official statements on this by Friday night.

IndiGo has cancelled its flights to Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Tashkent (Uzbekistan) until May 7.

A Civil Aviation Ministry official told this newspaper, “Flights will now need to take the Arabian Sea route, which is the only available option. This will increase travel time for passengers and add operational costs for airlines.”

The official also mentioned that airlines are unhappy about the extra fuel and time costs, and have approached the ministry seeking support to operate international flights via these longer routes. He said the same thing had happened in 2019 after the Pulwama attacks, when Pakistan had also shut its airspace.

Airlines such as Air India, IndiGo, Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air are expected to be affected.

IndiGo said in a statement, “Due to Pakistan’s airspace closure, about 50 of our international routes will need to fly longer sectors, which could slightly affect schedules. Almaty and Tashkent are beyond the range of our current fleet given these restrictions, so flights to Almaty are cancelled from April 27 to May 7, and to Tashkent from April 28 to May 7, 2025.”

A SpiceJet spokesperson said flights from North India to the UAE will now follow alternate routes and carry extra fuel to accommodate the longer duration.

Air India also warned passengers to expect delays. In a post on X, the airline said some of its flights to and from North America, the UK, Europe, and the Middle East will take extended routes due to the airspace closure.