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How Israel-Iran conflict is forcing Indian airlines to redraw flight paths to avoid the region’s airspace

The new flight paths, which are longer than the ones that went through the Iranian airspace, are bound to translate into higher fuel burn—and consequently higher operating costs—for airlines.

The recent escalation in the conflict in West Asia has forced numerous international airlines to redraw flight paths in a bid to steer clear of the airspace of countries like Iran and Iraq. Indian carriers—Air India, Vistara, IndiGo—are among the airlines that have changed tack and opted for longer paths for their flights to Europe and surrounding parts of Asia, shows The Indian Express’s analysis of recent changes in flight paths.

The new flight paths, which are longer than the ones that went through the Iranian airspace, are bound to translate into higher fuel burn—and consequently higher operating costs—for airlines. As a result, industry watchers feel that international airfares could rise further, if the West Asian conflict rages on.

For the analysis, the paths taken by flights operated on October 3 were compared with those of the same flights operated 10 days earlier—September 23. Tensions in West Asia have been escalating rapidly over the past couple of weeks. The most recent development—Iran’s large-scale missile attack on Israel on October 2—marked the latest flashpoint in the ongoing regional conflict.

To be sure, the initial airspace restrictions that were imposed by various countries in the region following Tuesday’s missile attack were lifted soon after. Most global airlines, however, are evidently still loath to use the airspace. Latest flight tracking data shows that while some airlines—mainly Middle-Eastern carriers—have started using the Iranian airspace again, most are still trying to avoid it.

All Europe and UK-bound flights of Air India and Vistara are now flying over Central Asian countries like Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, while avoiding the Iranian airspace altogether, shows flight path data from Flightradar24. Earlier, a large number of these flights were transiting the Iranian airspace on their way to Europe and the UK, and only a few—Air India’s Delhi-London Heathrow flights being a case in point—were taking a path that did not overfly Iran at all.

Here is the comparison of flight paths taken by two Europe-bound flights—one each of Air India and Vistara—on October 3 and September 23.

Air India flight AI 137  Air India flight AI 137 (Delhi-Milan)Vistara UK 21 (Delhi-Paris) Vistara UK 21 (Delhi-Paris)

Although IndiGo does not operate any flights to Europe or the UK, the carrier’s flights to Istanbul in Turkey have been impacted. Instead of flying over Iran, IndiGo’s Delhi-Istanbul flight is now forced to take a longer and circuitous route over Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus region, before entering the Turkish airspace.

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