UN asks India, Pakistan to show restraint; Kashmir row snowballs

Indian airlines Air India and IndiGo are bracing for higher fuel costs and longer journey times as they reroute international flights after Pakistan shut its airspace to them amid tensions over a deadly militant attack in Kashmir. International airlines are not affected by the ban.

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But late on Thursday, Air India and IndiGo began to reroute flights to New York, Azerbaijan and Dubai — all of which typically use Pakistan airspace, according to data from tracking website Flightradar24.

The worst-hit airport will be New Delhi, one of the world’s busiest, from where flights cross Pakistani airspace to fly to destinations in the West and the Middle East.

Data from Cirium Ascend showed IndiGo, Air India and its budget unit Air India Express have roughly 1,200 flights combined from New Delhi scheduled for Europe, the Middle East and North America in April.

Air India’s flights to the Middle East from New Delhi will take about an hour longer, which means more fuel and less cargo, said an Indian aviation executive who declined to be identified. Aircraft fuel and oil usually make up about 30% of an airline's operating costs, by far the biggest component.

FLIGHTS CANCELLED OR ADJUSTED, PILOT ROSTERS TO CHANGE:

IndiGo said about 50 international routes may be adjusted slightly. It also said it was cancelling flights to Almaty from April 27 until at least May 7 and to Tashkent from April 28 until May 7.

Indian airlines' expansion plans have already been complicated by delivery delays from Boeing and Airbus.

One Indian airline pilot told Reuters the ban would force airlines to redo their calculations on permitted flying hours and adjust crew and pilot rosters accordingly.