War stretches flights, crews, and wallets | India News

Passengers seated (right or left) will see the Pyramids of Giza.” of tired pilots Air India Flights operating to and from the West often make the announcement on clear visibility days while overflying Egypt on the terribly long routes imposed by the US-Israeli war against Iran.From February 28, westbound — except for the west coast of North America — flying from India over the Arabian Sea means Pakistan (for Indian carriers) and Iranian airspace (for all); Then turn right from Oman to Muscat, Saudi Arabia or beyond via Cairo en route to Europe, UK and North America. Same way on the way back. The war-torn air traffic corridor across the airspace of Afghanistan (starting from Pakistan for Indian carriers), Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel bears a deserted look with almost all aircraft flying under this passage. Usable corridors in the region, like parts of Saudi Arabia, are also seeing the effects of the war.Impact: Air India’s Delhi-London non-stop flying time increased by 50% from around eight hours – when both Pakistan (for Indian carriers) and Afghanistan airspace were open – to now more than 12 hours after the Iran war. Its Mumbai-New York has become a one-stop via a 13-14-hour non-stop Rome where the journey time is now close to 21 hours. IndiGo uses Norway’s Norse Atlantic Airlines wide-body aircraft, which bypass West Asia entirely as advised by the EU regulator. They fly over the Arabian Sea to Africa, and then turn right to fly north to Cairo and beyond. Same route for all on the way back.Since February 28, travelers have faced sharp increases in airfares and a sharp decline in travel options with the Big Three — Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad — out of the picture for now because of the Iran war. Airlines have seen their operating costs skyrocket, less profitable Gulf flights and pilots tired of controlling their widebody aircraft. Here’s how it’s impacting various stakeholders:

Indian operatorCompressed network: They had between 400 and 500 daily flights between India and the West, a number that has fallen sharply since February 28 due to the closure of airports in Bahrain and Doha, even as those in the UAE remain sporadically open and offer slots. There are regular flights and overflying in the region to some parts of Saudi and only a few places like Muscat.Half of IndiGo’s 300 daily international flights were to the West and that has now reduced to a handful. Air India Express had 110 daily West Asia connections, which has now come down to 50 “ad hoc” connections. Air India had 254 weekly scheduled flights to West Asia and that has come down to 30-40. Acasa and SpiceJet have also reduced their Gulf flights.Increase in operating expenses: Since the start of the Iran war, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices have effectively risen every time the rupee has hit a new low, which is now a daily feature. It is currently around $817 per kilo liter (kL) in both Delhi and Mumbai – up from around $779 last month. But the INR-to-USD exchange rate rose from Rs 91 to Rs 93.30 So all dollar-denominated costs — such as leases and maintenance — are upAfter all, the routes have become much longer, which means burning much more of that expensive fuel. A Boeing 787 burns about five tons of fuel per hour and a B777 about 7.5 tons of fuel. If the flying time is increased by two hours, an additional 10-15 tons will be burned per flight. At $817 per tonne for domestic carriers’ international flights, and $93.30 in rupees, the additional cost of fuel alone works out to about 80,000 rupees per hour. Air India has 358 weekly flights to the west – covering Europe, UK and North America – which are still operational.Indian operators these days upload more fuel than usual from India so that planes can return home with passengers — instead of being stranded — in the face of rising fighting in West Asia. More fuel means heavier aircraft. And the heavier the plane, the more fuel it burns.“At current operating costs, it doesn’t make sense to operate flights to the West. We are doing this as a promise to keep our fliers connected. Flying aircraft has always meant denying nature, keeping heavy metal tubes aloft. Now, after the Iran war, they are also denying the economy,” said a senior official. The airlines’ pleas to the government for some relief on ATF excise or VAT have so far been futile.Its effect is staggering for everyone, more so for the Maharaja. AI Group, IndiGo and Akasa have imposed fuel surcharges ranging from Rs 199 to $200 on their flights. Insurance costs for West Asian flights have increased to Rs 30-40 lakh for a narrow-body return trip and Rs 90 lakh to Rs 1 crore for a wide-body round trip.A tired crewAs the aircraft flies much longer routes to and from the West, Air India sought – and received – an exemption from the rules on flight duty time restrictions for its crews from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The regulator now allows its pilots to fly for up to 11.5 hours, meaning two pilots can conduct long flights without the need for a third to turn around and rest en route. Pilots have been flying long routes since last April, when Pakistan’s airspace was closed during Operation Sindoor. The Iran war has already stretched a long way.AI’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner pilots are the worst hit because the cockpit seats on that plane recline to a limited extent due to safety issues. “We’re pushing our bodies to the limits of human endurance,” said one B787 pilot, a sentiment echoed by others. “Imagine sitting in an uncomfortable office chair for 11.5 hours straight and being 100% present for the entire duration as we fly near a war zone with GPS jamming and spoofing all the way from Pakistan’s nearest airspace to out of Turkey. Airlines should be asked to increase pilot availability. God forbid, if something goes wrong, just blame the pilot. That’s the normal script.”Both AI and DGCA are aware of the difficulties, which they attribute to extraordinary circumstances. AI has converted 30 B777 pilots to the Dreamliner and they are expected to start flying within two months.“We have formally sought from the DGCA concessions on Coordinated Flight Time (FT) and Flight Duty Period (FDP). These concessions are intended to be used only until the current Middle East airspace restrictions come into force and are important to maintain schedule integrity and minimize inconvenience to passengers… All such exemptions are supported by safety risk assessment and will be implemented strictly as per approved conditions,” AI Senior VP (Flight Ops), Capt Manish Uppal said in a recent mail to pilots.Turbulence hits passengersWhen the Iran war broke out, passengers were forced to fire in large numbers to fly to their destinations and India was no exception. An Indian student, who came to Delhi from Ireland in mid-February for his grandfather’s funeral, paid Rs 1.8 lakh for a one-way ticket back to college.Many have booked their bookings on Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways for this summer. If the war doesn’t end quickly and those airlines don’t resume flights soon, airfares on other options will defy gravity during the summer travel months in India starting in early April.Add powerGulf carriers have historically carried a significant share of traffic between India and the rest of the world through their mega hubs such as Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. The sudden unavailability of the Big Three has created a vacuum, with passengers who had already booked their bookings for the February 28 travel post now looking for alternatives and thus, following the same limited options as fresh bookings.Air India is adding as many additional flights as possible to the West. Lufthansa has also deployed its 500-seater Airbus A380 on the Munich-Delhi and Munich-Mumbai routes, replacing the 280-seat A350, in addition to increasing frequencies between Chennai and Frankfurt. SWISS will operate a second daily service between Delhi and Zurich from March 19-24. Lufthansa is considering the option of acquiring more group airlines in India. Only Lufthansa, SWISS and ITA now fly to India; There are other group carriers, including Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Discover, and Eurowings, which do not yet exist.