Air India expects $600 million in losses if Pak airspace shut for a year: Report

The closure of Pakistani airspace for a year would result in losses of USD 600 million for the country's national carrier, Air India, news agency PTI reported, citing sources. The airline has sought the government's assistance to address the challenges. Air India, the country's national carrier, has estimated it would face losses of USD 600 million (approx 5,081 crore) if the Pakistani airspace was shut for a year and suggested financial assistance to deal with the situation, news agency PTI reported, citing sources. The Pakistani airspace was shut to Indian airlines in response to India's diplomatic measures against the neighbouring country in the aftermath of last week's Pahalgam terror attack.
Several airlines, including Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, gave their inputs and suggestions to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on the impact of the Pakistan airspace closure in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives, sources said. The ministry is assessing the situation and looking at possible solutions to address the issue, they added.
The ministry recently held a meeting with various airlines to discuss the Pakistan airspace closure and sought their inputs on the fallout and suggestions to deal with the situation. Pakistan shut its airspace to Indian airlines on April 24.
Air India has estimated that the additional expenses in case the airspace closure is in place for a year would be around USD 600 million, sources said. The airline was looking at various measures, including alternative routes, which will help reduce the costs, one of the sources said.
Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Akasa Air have international operations.
There were no official comments from the airlines.
India on Wednesday shut its airspace to all Pakistani aircraft till May 23 in a tit-for-tat measure after Islamabad shut the airspace to Indian airlines in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.
On April 28, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the ministry was assessing the situation arising out of the Pakistan airspace closure and that it was working with airlines for alternative solutions.
Aspects related to airlines as well as passengers, including a possible increase in airfares due to higher operational costs, against the backdrop of the airspace closure were being assessed by the ministry.
The additional weekly expenses were likely to be Rs 77 crore for international flights operating from north Indian cities as the airspace curbs result in increased fuel consumption and longer flight durations.An analysis of the number of overseas flights and back of the envelope calculations based on increased flight time as well as approximate expenses by PTI showed that the additional monthly operational costs for the Indian airlines could be over Rs 306 crore.