Iran airspace restriction adds 30 minutes to Kerala-Saudi Arabia flights
Highlights
- The budget airline has so far not hiked airfares due to the higher fuel burn and longer flying time
- India had on June 22 asked its airlines to avoid flying in the over-water area of Tehran (Iran) airspace
(Representative image) NEW DELHI: The flying time between Kerala and Saudi Arabia has increased by 30 minutes from last week as airlines operating these routes are taking a longer route to avoid the over-water area of Tehran (Iran) airspace with the Strait of Hormuz that connects Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman at its heart.
“We are taking a 200-mile detour to avoid that area which has increased flying time of Kerala-Saudi Arabia flights by 30 minutes, leading to an extra fuel burn of 1 ton per flight on our Boeing 737s,” said a senior official of Air India Express’ (AI-Ex) that also flies between Kerala and Saudi cities like Riyadh and Dammam.
The budget airline has so far not hiked airfares due to the higher fuel burn and longer flying time. “As of now we are bearing this extra cost. But if this airspace restriction also goes on for a long period (like Pakistan airspace that has been closed for overflying since February 27), we will have no option but to pass on the cost to flyers,” the AI-Ex official added.
India had on June 22 asked its airlines to avoid flying in the over-water area of Tehran (Iran) airspace. The shooting of a US military drone by Saudi last month near the Strait of Hormuz has dramatically escalated tensions here. Following this, the US Federal Aviation Administration had a day earlier issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) saying: “All flight operations in the overwater area of the Tehran flight information region (FII) above the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman only are prohibited until further notice due to heightened military activities… in the region, which presents an inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations and potential for miscalculation or mis-identification.”
Among affected Indian carriers are Air India’s flights on way back from the west (including Saudi, Europe and US) to India and IndiGo’s Doha-Istanbul-Doha.
“We are taking a 200-mile detour to avoid that area which has increased flying time of Kerala-Saudi Arabia flights by 30 minutes, leading to an extra fuel burn of 1 ton per flight on our Boeing 737s,” said a senior official of Air India Express’ (AI-Ex) that also flies between Kerala and Saudi cities like Riyadh and Dammam.
The budget airline has so far not hiked airfares due to the higher fuel burn and longer flying time. “As of now we are bearing this extra cost. But if this airspace restriction also goes on for a long period (like Pakistan airspace that has been closed for overflying since February 27), we will have no option but to pass on the cost to flyers,” the AI-Ex official added.
Don’t fly over Iran’s troubled waters, India tells airlines
Indian carriers will steer clear of the risk-fraught parts of Iranian airspace which means a further extension of the long routes Indian and foreign carriers have already been taking while flying between the west and parts of South Asia, including Delhi, since February 27 when Pakistan closed its airspace. The DGCA advisory comes amid rising tensions between US and Iran.
India had on June 22 asked its airlines to avoid flying in the over-water area of Tehran (Iran) airspace. The shooting of a US military drone by Saudi last month near the Strait of Hormuz has dramatically escalated tensions here. Following this, the US Federal Aviation Administration had a day earlier issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) saying: “All flight operations in the overwater area of the Tehran flight information region (FII) above the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman only are prohibited until further notice due to heightened military activities… in the region, which presents an inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations and potential for miscalculation or mis-identification.”
Among affected Indian carriers are Air India’s flights on way back from the west (including Saudi, Europe and US) to India and IndiGo’s Doha-Istanbul-Doha.
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