Pakistan's airspace ban costs Air India billions
The non-stop service from Delhi to San Francisco which flies east, across the Pacific
NEW DELHI (Web Desk) – The airspace ban over Pakistan which began on the February, a day after India violated Pakistan’s airspace, is costing Air India, the national carrier, dearly, Indian media reported.
According to Indian news channel, as a result of longer flights, which have had to become one-stop operations, the airline has bled more than Rs600 million so far. And that number is going up every day - potentially disastrous news for the cash-strapped airline which is surviving on government bailouts.
Air India flights travelling west can no longer fly through Pakistani airspace and need to swing south across Gujarat and then cut across the Arabian sea to reach their destinations in Europe and North America. The most problematic flights for Air India are flights between India and the US East coast - Washington, New York, Newark and also Chicago.
These flights can no longer operate non-stop and have had to stop at either Sharjah or Vienna to refuel. Each refueling halt, mandatory on both the outbound and return legs, costs the airline Rs5 million on an average. With the airline having to position crew and engineers in Vienna, Air India has lost approximately Rs600 million till March 16.
The non-stop service from Delhi to San Francisco which flies east, across the Pacific, has not been affected.
With losses rising with every flight, Air India has now cut its Vienna stop-over to just two flights while other flights are being refueled in Mumbai. But this too is problematic since refueling flights bound for North America in Mumbai comes with payload penalties. Essentially, there are restrictions which are placed on the number of passengers each jet can carry. If an airliner carries less, the airline earns less as well on each affected sector.
