Pahalgam turbulence: Global airlines avoid Pakistani airspace as India-Pakistan tensions rise

Amid escalating tensions—both diplomatic and otherwise—between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan over the terrifying Pahalgam attack of April 22, numerous global airlines have decided to go around Pakistani airspace, according to various airline statements and data from flight-tracking websites on Monday.

Both nations have closed their airspaces to each other, while permitting international airlines to continue using them.

While some carriers have chosen to issue statements about circumventing Pakistan's airspace, others already do so without official statements. 

One such airline is the German-origin Lufthansa, which claimed to be "avoiding Pakistani airspace until further notice", despite the extra miles contributing to longer flight times in certain flights to Asia, according to a statement it gave to Reuters.

A Lufthansa flight LH760 from Frankfurt to New Delhi had to fly for nearly an hour longer than usual on Sunday because it took a longer route around Pakistan, as per data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24. 

In another statement to Reuters, Air France said it would “suspend overflight of Pakistan until further notice", citing an “evolution of tensions" between India and Pakistan. As a result, flights to cities like Delhi, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh will now take longer, which in turn may result in increased ticket prices to these destinations.

Flight-tracking data also showed some flights of British Airways, Swiss International Air Lines and Emirates travelling over the Arabian Sea (parallel to Pakistan) and then making a northward turn at Delhi in order to avoid Pakistani airspace.

These airlines, have, however, not released any official statements communicating these intentions.

This development might also lead to a decline in Pakistan's earnings from overflight fees, the Reuters report said, which could go as high as hundreds of dollars per flight, depending on aircraft weight as well as the distance covered. 

Airlines have also been reacting to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, with European and US carriers cancelling flights for several days after a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels landed near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday.

World