India’s aviation sector is experiencing disruptions due to the closure of airspace in six countries in response to Iran’s retaliation against Israeli attacks.
This disruption has affected critical international flight routes. Aviation sources report that 30 Indian flights were diverted, and many others were cancelled during the conflict.
Following the Israeli strikes last night, Iran’s airspace was closed to all flights, and Iraq soon followed suit.
On Friday morning, Jordan issued a notice to shut its airspace as well, but announced reopening on Saturday. Additionally, Israel has completely closed its airspace to mitigate the risk of retaliation.
During the attack on Iran, two Indian flights originating from Delhi were temporarily stranded but were eventually allowed to leave Iranian airspace.
Flights from Washington to Delhi, New York to Mumbai, and London to Delhi were diverted to various locations including Vienna and Frankfurt.
Whereas, flights from Vancouver and Chicago to Delhi were rerouted to Jeddah, while services from Bangalore to Sharjah also faced disruptions.
Numerous flights from the US, UK, Canada, and various European countries have had to be cancelled.
As a result of these developments, flights from the US to India are now arriving at their destinations via Canada, Russia, Mongolia, China, Myanmar, and Bangladesh, significantly increasing travel times. For instance, a 15-hour flight from Jeddah is now taking over 18 hours.
In Pakistan, flight operations remain largely unaffected except for a some delays.
Seven flights from Najaf to Karachi, Baku to Lahore, and Karachi to Jeddah have been cancelled. Additionally, two foreign airline flights from Kuwait to Karachi have been delayed by more than six hours.
Two flights from Dubai to Karachi faced two-hour delays, while four flights from Karachi to Istanbul were delayed by more than an hour. The national airline’s flight from Karachi to Muscat was also delayed by five hours.
Furthermore, flights from Sharjah and Dubai to Faisalabad were delayed by two hours, and flights from Sharjah to Sialkot and Dubai to Multan faced delays of over an hour.
