Air India fears an additional cost of $600 million for the Indian airline due to Pakistan’s airspace closure. In a letter, the airline has requested India’s Civil Aviation Ministry to provide compensatory subsidies.
The news agency Reuters reported this information in a report on Thursday (May 1). Citing the letter, Reuters said that if Pakistan’s airspace ban continues for another year, the additional costs may be due to longer flight times and higher fuel costs due to operating alternative routes.
Air India warned, “These longer flight times will also affect passengers.”
As a result, Air India is expected to face a loss of more than $591 million if the ban is in effect every year.
The ban comes in response to India’s diplomatic steps against Pakistan over the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Delhi has claimed that Pakistan’s intelligence agencies are behind the attack. The ban is likely to remain in effect until May 23.
However, the ban does not affect international airlines.
As a result, Air India has requested the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation to provide compensatory subsidies. In the letter, they said, “Subsidies are a good, verifiable and fair way to support affected international flights. The subsidies can be withdrawn when the situation improves.”
The letter also said, “Air India is being most affected by fuel costs, additional crew management due to the closure of the airspace.”
There has been no official comment from Air India or the Ministry of Civil Aviation so far.
Apart from Air India, other companies are also being affected. However, the impact will be the most on Air India, owned by the Tata Group, as the company has faced a net loss of $ 520 million in the 2023-24 financial year.
IndiGo also said that some of its flights have been affected. For example, a flight from Delhi to Baku, Azerbaijan, on Thursday took 5 hours and 43 minutes, 38 minutes longer than usual.
Air India, however, will be the worst hit, as it has the largest number of flights using Pakistani airspace to international destinations. For example, flights on the Delhi-Middle East route are now taking at least an hour more, requiring more fuel.
Air India, Air India Express and IndiGo operated about 1,200 flights from Delhi to Europe, the Middle East and North America in April alone.
Reuters reported that the government is considering options to mitigate the impact on airlines, including additional pilot approvals for long-haul flights to the United States and Canada, tax exemptions and, exceptionally, negotiating overflight clearances with Pakistan’s ally China.