Around 600 flights of Indian airlines diverted due to Pak airspace closure since April 24

"If Pakistan’s airspace closure persists for one month, the cumulative financial impact on Indian airlines could be in the range of $10 million to $15 million," said Linus Bauer, founder and managing director of UAE-based consultancy BAA & Partners.

Pakistan's April 24 closure of its airspace to Indian flights has hit some 600 west-bound international flights of mostly Air India and IndiGo in the first five days since the airspace closure. The forced diversions that have resulted has led to around 120 flights being forced to make an extra stop to refuel when flying to Europe, North America and other destinations that involve overflying Pakistan, data shared by online travel agents and flight tracking platforms with Moneycontrol showed.

Islamabad banned flights operated by Indian carriers from using its airspace from April 24. This was in the wake of measures taken by India in response to the terrorist attack on tourists at Pahalgam on April 22 that left at least 26 dead and wounded many others.

Indian carriers are being forced to reroute international flights over Mumbai and Ahmedabad, turning over the Arabian Sea to head to Muscat, and then flying to their destination.

"All IndiGo, Akasa Air, Air India and Air India Express international flights from Delhi, Amritsar, Jaipur, Lucknow and Srinagar to countries in the Middle East including Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, countries in Eastern Europe including Turkey, Greece, Georgia, and to the US and Canada have been rerouted since April 24," a senior executive from an online travel platform told Moneycontrol.

An estimated 800 international flights of Indian airlines flew over Pakistani airspace every week in March 2025 and rerouting is becoming a complex and costly affair for them as international flights from Delhi, Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Jaipur to cities in the Middle East are now flying an additional 15 to 45 minutes and another 1.5 hours to flights going to Europe.

Indian carriers are being forced to reroute international flights over Mumbai and Ahmedabad, turning over the Arabian Sea to head to Muscat, and then flying to their destination.

"If Pakistan’s airspace closure persists for one month, the cumulative financial impact on Indian airlines could be in the range of $10 million to $15 million," said Linus Bauer, founder and managing director of UAE-based consultancy BAA & Partners.

This includes direct operational costs such as fuel and crew overtime plus indirect revenue losses from flight cancellations, reduced cargo capacity and schedule unreliability, he said.

As planes fly longer distances, the additional cost per flight could be $1,350 to $3,000 from increased fuel consumption alone, he added. Jet fuel makes up about 25 percent of an airline's total cost, by far the single biggest component.

According to industry insiders, airlines’ costs are bound to rise and could mean higher airfares. Additionally, as airlines from other countries can continue to overfly Pakistan, they may get a cost advantage over their Indian counterparts on the affected routes.

While the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on April 28 said that it is working with Indian airlines to get a better assessment of the impact of Pakistani airspace closure, and to work out the best possible solutions for both passengers and carriers, domestic airlines have started considering higher ticket prices. According to senior MoCA officials, airlines have asked the government to consider providing a subsidy to help offset their higher costs and avoid a hike in airfares.

Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu on April 28 said that the ministry is discussing options on alternative routes with airlines, and the government’s priority is to try and see that the airspace closure does not adversely impact the average passenger.

Asked about the government's thinking about maintaining the original flying time and fares, Naidu said the most obvious alternative was to fly north over the Himalayas. "So again, the technical capability of the aircraft, the pilots and the crew comes into picture," Naidu said.

Pakistan denied the use of its airspace from 6 pm on April 24. "At the time the (airspace) ban went into effect, two Indian-registered aircraft were within Pakistan airspace. Air India Express 191 and IndiGo 1481 were allowed to continue through Pakistan airspace toward their destinations. IndiGo flight 1428 was over Iran en route from Sharjah to Amristar approaching the Pakistan border when it changed course to the south. The aircraft diverted to Ahmedabad to refuel," flightradar24 said in a press note on that date.

According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, Air India now operates around 1,188 international flights per week, a 56.7 per cent increase from April 2019. Its India-Europe flights, many of which traverse Pakistan's airspace, have surged by about 80 per cent to 242 services per week. Similarly, its flights to North America, also relying on Pakistan's airspace, have more than doubled to 144 per week.

The current situation bears resemblance to the 2019 airspace closure by Pakistan, which severely affected Indian as well as foreign airlines. However, this time the airspace is open for foreign carriers.

Indian carriers lost over Rs 540 crore between February 26 and July 2, 2019, due to Pakistan's airspace closure, then aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri had told the Rajya Sabha. Air India, at the time state-owned, alone incurred a loss of Rs 491 crore, while private airlines SpiceJet, IndiGo and the now defunct Go First lost Rs 30.73 crore, Rs 25.1 crore and Rs 2.1 crore, respectively, during that period.

Air India in a statement had said in 2019 that the flying time for long-haul flights towards the US had increased by 90 minutes and additional fuel was needed. Also, US-bound flights had to be stopped at Vienna, where the crew change took three hours. A similar situation is likely to be witnessed now.

In 2019, when Pakistan had reopened its airspace for all commercial airlines after July 16, Air India in a statement had said that operational costs for one-way flights to the US and Europe were likely to come down by Rs 20 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively.

According to reports, the Indian government is also considering the closure of its airspace to Pakistani carriers, a move that would force the rerouting of planes over China or Sri Lanka to reach Southeast Asian destinations such as Kuala Lumpur. India is also contemplating a ban on Pakistani ships from calling at Indian ports.