Passengers sitting (right or left) can see the Pyramids of Giza. weary pilots of air india Flights to and from the West now often make this declaration when flying over Egypt on extremely long routes imposed by the US–Israel war against Iran on days with clear visibility.Since February 28, going west from India – except for the west coast of North America – means flying over the Arabian Sea while avoiding Pakistan (for Indian carriers) and Iranian airspace (for all); Then turn right over Oman to Muscat, Saudi Arabia or beyond, via Cairo to Europe, Britain and North America. It is the same way back also. The war-zone air traffic corridor covering the airfields of Afghanistan (starting from Pakistan for Indian carriers), Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel has a deserted look due to almost all the aircraft flying under this route. Like parts of Saudi Arabia, utility corridors in the region are also being affected by the war.Impact: Air India’s Delhi-London non-stop flight time has increased by 50% from around eight hours after the Iran war – when both Pakistan (for Indian carriers) and Afghanistan airspace remained open – to now more than 12 hours. Its Mumbai-New York 13-14 hour non-stop has become onestop via Rome and the journey time is now close to 21 hours. IndiGo uses wide-body aircraft from Norway’s Norse Atlantic airline, which completely bypasses West Asia as advised by the EU regulator. They fly over the Arabian Sea to Africa, and then turn right to fly north to Cairo and beyond. Same route for everyone in return.Since February 28, travelers have faced a steep rise in airfares and a sharp decline in travel options due to the Iran war, while the Big Three – Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad – are out of the picture for the time being. Airlines have seen their operating costs skyrocket, less attractive Gulf flights, and fatigued pilots at the controls of their widebody planes. Here’s how it’s affecting various stakeholders:
Indian operatorShrinkable Network: Their daily flights between India and the West used to be between 400 and 500, this number has fallen sharply since February 28 due to the closure of airports in Bahrain and Doha, while in the UAE they remain open sporadically and offer slots. There are regular flights and air flights to only a few places in the region these days, such as parts of Saudi Arabia and Muscat.Half of IndiGo’s 300 daily international flights were to the west and have now dropped to a handful. Air India Express had 110 daily West Asia connections, which has now reduced to 50 “ad-hoc” connections. Air India had 254 weekly scheduled flights to West Asia and that has come down to 30-40. Akasa and SpiceJet have also seen a reduction in their Gulf flights.Rising Operating Costs: Since the Iran war began, aviation fuel (ATF) prices have effectively risen every time the rupee has hit a new low, which is now a daily feature. It currently costs around $817 per kilo liter (KL) in both Delhi and Mumbai – up from around $779 last month. But the INR-to-USD exchange rate has gone from Rs 91 to Rs 93.30. So all dollar-denominated costs – like lease rent and maintenance – have gone up.On top of that, routes have become much longer, meaning expensive fuel will cost a lot more. A Boeing 787 burns about five tons of fuel every hour and a B777 burns about 7.5 tons of fuel. If the flight time is increased by two hours, an additional 10-15 tons are burned per flight. At $817 per tonne and Rs 93.30 per tonne for international flights by domestic airlines, the additional expenditure on fuel alone comes to Rs 80,000 per hour. Air India has 358 weekly flights to the West – covering Europe, the UK and North America – which are still operating.Indian operators upload more fuel than usual from India these days so that planes can return home with passengers instead of getting stranded if fighting escalates in West Asia. More fuel means heavier aircraft. And the heavier the plane, the more fuel it burns.“At the current operating costs, it does not make sense to operate flights to the west. We’re doing this as a commitment to keeping our flyers engaged. Flying a plane has always meant challenging nature, with heavy metal tubes flying through the air. Now, after the Iran war, they are challenging economics also,” said a senior official. Airlines’ appeals to the government for some relief on ATF excise duty or VAT have so far been in vain.The effect of this is shocking for everyone, especially the Maharaja. AI Group, IndiGo and Akasa have imposed fuel surcharge ranging from Rs 199 to $200 on their flights. Insurance costs for flights to West Asia have increased to Rs 30-40 lakh for narrow-body return trips and Rs 90 lakh to Rs 1 crore for wide-body round trips.tired crewSince the aircraft are flying very long routes to and from the West, Air India sought and received exemption from flight duty time limit rules for its crew from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The regulator has now allowed its pilots to fly for up to 11.5 hours, meaning two pilots can conduct longer flights without the need for a third pilot who would allow them to take turns taking rest en route. The pilots have been flying the long route since last April, when Pakistan’s airspace was closed during Operation Sindoor. The Iran war has made an already long road even longer.AI’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner pilots have been most affected as the plane’s cockpit seat allows limited reclining due to a safety issue. “We are pushing our bodies to the limits of human endurance,” said one B787 pilot, a sentiment echoed by others. “Imagine sitting in an uncomfortable office chair for 11.5 hours straight and being 100% present during the entire duration as we navigate GPS jamming and flying close to war zones from airspace near Pakistan to beyond Turkey. Airlines should be asked to increase pilot availability. God forbid, if something goes wrong, just blame the pilot. It’s a normal script.”Both AI and DGCA are aware of the difficulties, which they attribute to extraordinary circumstances. AI has replaced 30 B777 pilots on the Dreamliner and they are expected to start flying in two months.“We have formally sought coordinated flight time (FT) and flight duty period (FDP) exemptions from the DGCA. These exemptions are to be used only as long as the current Middle East airspace restrictions are in effect and are critical to maintaining schedule integrity and minimizing passenger inconvenience… All such exemptions are supported by safety risk assessments and will be implemented strictly as per the approved conditions,” AI’s senior VP (flight operations), Captain Manish Uppal, said recently. said in a mail to the pilots.unrest affects passengersWhen the Iran war broke out, travelers were forced to spend huge sums of money to reach their destination and India was no exception. An Indian student, who came to Delhi from Ireland in mid-February for his grandfather’s funeral, paid Rs 1.8 lakh for a one-way ticket to return to college.Many people have put their bookings on Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways for this summer. If the war does not end quickly and those airlines do not resume flights soon thereafter, airfares over other options in India will seriously decline in the summer travel months starting from early April.add capacityGulf carriers have historically carried a significant share of traffic between India and the rest of the world through their mega hubs such as Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. The sudden unavailability of the Big Three has created a void, as passengers who had already booked with them for travel after February 28 are now looking for alternatives and thus, those making new bookings are pursuing the same limited options.Air India is adding as many additional flights to the West as possible. Lufthansa deployed its 500-seat Airbus A380 instead of the 280-seat A350 on the Munich-Delhi and Munich-Mumbai routes besides increasing frequency between Chennai and Frankfurt. SWISS will operate a second daily service between Delhi and Zurich from March 19-24. Lufthansa is considering the option of bringing more group airlines into India. Now only Lufthansa, Swiss and ITA fly to India; There are other group carriers that do not yet do this, including Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Discover and Eurowings.Away from flights, some of the ways in which India is being harmed by war…medical equipment : : Medical supplies like syringes and hospital disposables are being threatened by rising medical-grade plastic, freight and gas costs. Prolonged disruption could lead to production cuts and rising pricesPharma: Pharmaceutical plants in states have shut down due to propane shortages. Production of some essential medicines affectedFertilizer: Ammonia and urea production being affected ahead of Kharif season due to LNG disruptionRestaurant/Catering: Commercial LPG shortage is increasing costs and disrupting operationsAC: LPG and petrochemical shortages hurting air conditioner production just ahead of summer seasonAutomobile: Expensive components, gas shortage putting pressure on auto production
