Op Sindor takes heavy toll on aviation networks

Rerouted flights are longer, requiring more fuel and causing increased carbon emissions, higher operational costs, and mid-journey refuelling stops

- RAJIB CHAKRABORTY

The ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, intensified by retaliatory strikes under Operation Sindor, takes heavy toll on aviation networks, with Pakistan's official closure of its airspace to Indian aircraft on 24 April triggering widespread disruption.

The ripple effects are being felt sharply in India's eastern aviation hub -- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata -- where air traffic controllers (ATC) are battling a daily operational overload.

According to airport sources, rerouting over 130 international flights per day, primarily those departing from north and east India, including Delhi, Amritsar, and Kolkata, through Mumbai and Ahmedabad has led to unprecedented pressure on infrastructure and personnel.

Kolkata's ATC, already managing near-peak loads, has been forced to handle traffic volumes far beyond its designated limit.

The rerouting has not only increased fuel consumption and flight durations but also led to skyrocketing operational costs.

Several international airlines, including Air India, are reporting significantly higher expenditures per long-haul route, with some flights now requiring mid-journey refuelling stops.

An Air India flight from Delhi to abroad, for instance, three days ago halted in Vienna, pushing fuel consumption from 106,500 kg to 125,500 kg per flight, and increasing carbon emissions by approximately 60 metric tonnes, an Air India source said.