The closure of Pakistan airspace, which has been in place for more than a month, has cost Air India “ ₹5- 7 crore per day” as flights to the U.S. and Europe are forced to take a detour through the Middle East, said a senior official of the airline.
Air India serves five destinations in the U.S. and ten in Europe, which together account for nearly half of the airline’s 37 international destinations. The losses on these routes are a major setback for an airline for which international operations bring a fifth of the total profit.
The increase in costs is due to additional fuel use because of an increase in flight duration by two hours, along with a technical halt for U.S.-bound flights at Sharjah or Vienna.
