Two United Airlines flights en route to India have been diverted in Europe. Three Air India flights from US to Delhi had to make a technical stop in Dubai for refueling.
Tensions continue to escalate between India and Pakistan, with the latest being Pakistan claiming to have shot down two Indian fighter jets in response to the bombing of alleged terror targets by India in Pakistan. As the situation looks grave, in case you are planning to fly down from the United States to India, you can expect an increased travel time.
Air India has issued advisories to all the travelers that keeping in view of the prevailing situation, the airline has made an astute route-planning for long and medium-haul flights to prepare for any exigency, including closure of air space. The airline has assured its passengers that it is ensuring that flights operate with minimal delay, prioritizing safety and security.
The advisory also said that inbound and outbound flights from the United States and Europe for Delhi are being re-routed through Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Also, flights landing into India from the United States and Europe are being re-routed via Dubai and Sharjah. Any passengers flying to India via these routes may note that the re-routing would result in delays, Air India said. For the moment, no flights are cancelled and the only inconvenience travelers may experience is an increase in flying time.
Meanwhile, several airlines, including Emirates, FlyDubai, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Sri Lankan Airlines and Air Canada, have suspended their flights to Pakistan after the country closed its air space.
Most flights to Europe and the Middle East, flying over India and Pakistan were routed via Mumbai so that they can avoid the Pakistan air space.
While Pakistan has already imposed a ban on flights over its air space, right now there is no news of India imposing such a ban. The ban is for now until the midnight of February 28.
Due to the ban over Pakistani air space and parts of Afghanistan air space, all flights to and from Europe or America can expect an increase of about 90 minutes to 120 minutes in their flying time.
Since flights from the United States to India are long haul, three Air India flights from the US to Delhi had to make a technical stop in Dubai for refueling before continuing their journey to Delhi via Mumbai.
Two United Airlines flights en route to India have been diverted in Europe.