Closed skies and costly detours: why Indian airlines are among the worst hit by the conflict in West Asia, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• Indian airlines are significantly impacted by the West Asia conflict, leading to reduced aircraft utilization, especially on Gulf routes.
• Air India Express has nearly 25% of its fleet idle due to flight restrictions and security concerns in the region.
• Approximately 2,600 flights by Indian carriers were canceled in the first nine days following the escalation of tensions between Iran and Israel on February 28.
• Nearly 4 crore passengers traveled between India and the Gulf in 2025, making it India’s largest international aviation corridor.
• Jet fuel prices in India have risen by $50 per kilolitre since January to $150 per kilolitre, increasing operational costs.

Detailed Insights:

• The Gulf routes are crucial for Indian airlines due to the large Indian diaspora in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, with over 90 lakh Indians residing there.
• Flight disruptions in major hubs like Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi have severely affected international passenger traffic, as roughly half of India's international passengers use these hubs for connections to the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
• Rising operational costs are exacerbated by increased war-risk insurance premiums of about ₹18,000 per seat on Gulf routes and the limited effectiveness of fuel surcharges to offset these costs.
• Redeploying idle aircraft to Southeast Asian routes or increasing domestic services is not viable due to oversupply in the Southeast Asian market and thinner margins in the domestic sector.
• Air India's flights to Europe and the U.S. now take longer southerly routes to avoid Iranian airspace, with some U.S. services requiring fuel stops, compounded by the earlier closure of Pakistani airspace.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): A regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
• Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF): A type of jet fuel used in aircraft powered by gas turbine engines.
• War-Risk Insurance: Insurance coverage for potential losses resulting from acts of war, including damage to or loss of aircraft.