Indian airlines pay price of Modi’s folly

The closure of Pakistan’s airspace following skirmishes with India has affected operations of several airlines, most notably of India. As a result, the air travel has become more expensive while several airlines have suspended or reduced flights. Pakistan closed its airspace to commercial flights originating in India or transiting through the Indian airspace after the Indian attack on Balakot forests on February 26. The attack destroyed nine pine trees.

Soon after, India was forced to shift some flights from New Delhi to Mumbai while international airlines cancelled several flights to India. “The closure of Pakistani airspace has led to a sharp increase in fares — by 40pc to 50pc for same-day bookings and, in some cases, up to 200pc for last-minute purchases, according to travel portals. Imports and exports have also become costlier as cargo planes too have to make lengthy detours,” says a report. The Air India flies 66 weekly flights to Europe and 33 to the US, and most of these flights use the Pakistani airspace. Nearly all of them have been affected. The losses to India’s airlines have alone crossed Rs700 crore or more mark while the closure has inspired great unease among the Indian aviation.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been forced to deploy more air traffic controllers at the Mumbai airport as the flights there have increased more than 50 percent while those from New Delhi have gone down. A report quoted an AAI official as saying that “flights from Iran, Iraq or the US used to come via Pakistani airspace, but they have now shifted to Muscat airspace and come from the Mumbai side. Some flights took just 60 minutes via Pakistani airspace but the travel time has now doubled.” It has been reported that 451 kilometres are added extra to a flight originating from London to Singapore after taking the Oman route.

On the other hand, travelers from Kabul to New Delhi are now paying more than $150 on their tickets besides sitting in aircraft for six hours instead of three earlier. The Afghan exports that were taken abroad aircraft to India have also drastically gone down. Mohammad Qasim Wafaeezada, Afghanistan's Civil Aviation Authority chairman, told the media that more than 250 flights used to cross through Pakistan daily but the number had been reduced to nine now.

Meanwhile, the FO spokesman told the Pakistani media that Islamabad did not want an escalation with India. “If de-escalation takes place, we would not like to have a ban (on our airspace for India) for a single day but for the purpose, it (India) will have to talk to us. India should show rational behaviour and must understand that issues will not be resolved through confrontation.”

Pakistan will reconsider the ban after May 30 when a new government takes over the reins in New Delhi. But now the airlines have to deal with US tensions with Iran and the escalating crisis in the Middle East. If a limited war breaks out in the Middle East, the Muscat airspace and Iranian airspace will be no longer be available to airlines, which will have to be rerouted further south. At the same time, oil prices are rising steadily, putting further pressure on air carriers.

As it is, India has ignored Pakistan’s repeated offers to hold bilateral dialogue to seek peace by resolving the long-standing disputes; on the other hand, it continues to threaten Pakistan with airstrikes and keeps firing at the LoC, targeting both military and non-military personnel. Pakistan has to keep the airspace blocked in lieu of possible Indian air strikes and explicit threats. It is Modi Sarkar that is responsible for the Pakistani air closure while India’s aviation has felt the weight of financial losses much harder than Pakistan thanks to Modi’s follies.