New Delhi: Airlines flying to, from and through areas affected by the US-Israeli strikes against Iran are now staying away from the same and trying to find ways to evacuate their crew from there.
From now on, flights between the West and India, among other places in the East, will become longer, and refueling operations on North American routes will likely cease.When the combat operation in Iran began, hundreds of commercial flights were either flying over the affected airspace or about to enter the affected airspace from Iran to Israel. Among them was the Air India flight between Delhi and Tel Aviv (AI 139) which was in Saudi airspace at the time. The airline asked the pilots to turn back and fly to Mumbai.
The Amnesty International flight from Chicago to Delhi (AI 126) was about to enter Iraqi airspace, and instead turned towards Syria to take a longer route home. Amnesty International is now working to evacuate its staff from Tel Aviv.
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“AI139 is operating from Delhi to Tel Aviv on 28 February, a return flight to Mumbai due to the closure of airspace in Israel and in the interest of the safety of passengers and crew. Air India regrets the inconvenience caused to passengers due to this unforeseen situation and remains committed to maintaining the highest safety standards.”
An Air India spokesperson said: “We will continue to evaluate the safety and security environment for our flight operations and proactively adjust operations as needed.”Amnesty International stopped flying over Iraq on its overnight flights to and from Europe as of the same Friday night, people familiar with the matter say. US flights used to fly over Iraq during the day, and now that has stopped as well. Amnesty International flights in North America can now stop to refuel in Vienna or Rome.
IndiGo is also making an impact on its flights.Airlines have also warned their crews of extensive GPS fraud and jamming in conflict areas.For Indian airlines, the entire airspace west of Pakistan up to Iraq is a no-go zone which will affect all flights to and from Europe, the UK and North America. IndiGo flights to CIS will be affected.Amnesty International’s application to use the Hotan waypoint in northwest China has not yet been approved. If allowed to take this route through high mountain ranges, Amnesty International believes it can get an exit from Pakistani airspace forever for its flights to and from Europe/UK/North America.
