Air India looking for 'alternatives' for North American travel, expenses increased due to closure of Pakistani airspace

Air India is planning different alternatives for flights between Delhi and North America. A possible option is to have a technical halt at an airport in a city in India along the course of flights, so that additional operational costs due to the Pakistani closure of airspace can be minimized. Amar Ujala Sources provided this information on Friday.

Currently, Air India, owned by the Tata Group, operates 71 flights weekly to North America, and among these flights, 54 fly out of the national capital. The carrier operates to Chicago, New York, Washington, San Francisco, Newark in America, and Toronto and Vancouver in Canada.

Air India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Campbell Wilson said in his message on Friday that there have been several network-related incidents, and the airline has recently adjusted some of its Europe and America routes in response to airspace restrictions. Also added some technical stops.

After the Pahalgam terrorist attack, several strategic steps were taken by India against Pakistan. After which, Pakistan banned Indian airlines from using its airspace on 24 April.

Due to the closure of airspace, flight time has increased. More fuel is being used, the capacity to carry luggage and passengers has been affected, and there is also a problem with the availability of aircraft. Apart from this, challenges are also arising regarding the fixed time limit of pilot and crew duty. Now, all flights flying westward from North Indian cities are taking longer alternative routes over the Arabian Sea.

In such a situation, Air India, India's only airline with direct flights to North America, is considering many options to reduce expenses. Due to the closure of Pakistani airspace, Air India flights from Delhi to North America are now taking a longer route and also making a technical stop in a European city en route. These stops are usually made in Vienna (Austria) or Copenhagen (Denmark) to refuel the aircraft.