Three airlines — Air India, Air India Express and IndiGo — are incurring a combined Rs 37 lakh every day in additional operational expenditure due to rerouting that avoids part of Iranian airspace, Minister of State for Civil Aviation (Independent Charge) Hardeep Singh Puri informed Parliament on Thursday. The rerouting primarily affects flights to destinations in West Asia, Europe, US, Turkey, etc.
Following an advisory by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on June 20 prohibiting US-registered planes from flying over part of Iranian airspace, Indian carriers in consultation with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had decided to avoid flying in the affected portions of the airspace. On June 19, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard had shot down a US surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz that added to the tension between the two countries.
