Pahalgam: India explores Leh-Hindu Kush route to skip Pakistan's airspace

Top executives of air navigation authorities and Indian airlines are huddling up to find new flight paths as Pakistan’s closure of its airspace causes loss

Several Indian airlines, including Air India, affected by the closure of Pakistani airspace. X/@airindia

As Pakistan imposes an airspace blockade, causing major disturbance for Indian airlines, reports are emerging that New Delhi is looking for new flight paths to mitigate the impact of the curbs. The diplomatic row that ensued between India and Pakistan following the devastating Pahalgam attack has led to both nations blocking their airspace for each other.

In light of this, top executives of air navigation authorities and airlines in India are huddling up to find a solution. According to The Economic Times, the officials are contemplating plans to decongest the western airspace and find a new flight path as an alternative.

Apart from this, the Indian government is also considering approaching the International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO) to challenge the blockade, arguing that it goes against the 1944 Convention on Civil Aviation. After Pakistan shut its airspace, Indian airliners like Air India and IndiGo were forced to alter multiple routes, leading to escalating fuel expenses and longer journey times.

India explores alternatives

A source close to the matter told The Economic Times that officials from the defence, external affairs and civil aviation ministries met to discuss alternatives last week. The authorities asked airliners to examine the feasibility of the route, where an aircraft travelling from Delhi can head to the North of Leh and then fly over the Hind Kush, entering Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, en route to Europe or North America.

This way, India would be able to bypass Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 2021, Air India started flying on a route, titled Papa 500, on aeronautical charts. However, that required the aircraft to fly over the Pakistani airspace for a short time. In the proposed idea, the aircraft need to fly further north and even enter the Chinese airspace.

“Airlines have been asked to check the feasibility of the route, following which the government can reach out to China for permission. This could offer direct access to Europe and the USA without requiring a halt,” a government official aware of the plan told The Economic Times.

What is the current arrangement?

Since the closure of the Pakistani airspace, flights between north India, Europe and North America are flying south, close to Ahmedabad. From there, it heads over the Arabian Sea and heads to Muscat en route to the destination.

Indigo noted that the flight to Central Asia had been stopped, and Air India had to take one stop for its flights to the US. During the meeting, Airline officials argued that if they went ahead with the proposed plan, it would require additional training for the crew to operate at such a high altitude, and the aircraft should also have more than 22 minutes of oxygen on board due to the high terrain.

“Air India will have to do a safety feasibility study and fit extra oxygen in the planes for flying the routes. It is a very complex operation, and it will not be allowed without ensuring 100% safety,” a government source said.

With inputs from agencies.