Pakistan decided to stop Indian flights from flying over their country on April 24th. This has caused problems for around 600 international flights going westward, mainly Air India and IndiGo. In the first five days of this closure, about 120 of these flights had to land somewhere extra to refuel because their original paths over Pakistan were blocked when flying to Europe, North America, and other far-off places. This information comes from online travel companies and flight tracking websites.
Indian Airlines Flight Diversions
Starting on April 24th, Pakistan wouldn’t let Indian airplanes use its airspace. This happened after India took some actions because of the terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam on April 22nd. In that attack, at least 26 people died, and many others were hurt.
Because they can’t fly over Pakistan, Indian airlines now have to send their international flights over the cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad first. Then, these planes fly over the Arabian Sea towards Muscat (a city in Oman) before continuing on to where they need to go.
Since April 24th, all international flights from IndiGo, Akasa Air, Air India, and Air India Express that start in Delhi, Amritsar, Jaipur, Lucknow, and Srinagar have had to change their routes. This affects flights going to countries in the Middle East like Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait, as well as countries in Eastern Europe like Turkey, Greece, and Georgia. Even flights going all the way to the US and Canada are being rerouted. This information comes from a top person at an online travel company.
Back in March 2025, Indian airlines had around 800 international flights flying over Pakistan each week. Now that they can’t, it’s becoming tricky and expensive for them to change the routes. For example, flights from cities like Delhi, Amritsar, Srinagar, and others going to the Middle East are now taking an extra 15 to 45 minutes. And flights heading to Europe are taking a much longer detour, adding about 1 and a half hours to the journey.
Because Indian airlines can’t fly over Pakistan anymore, their international flights are now being made to go over the Indian cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad first. After that, they fly across the Arabian Sea towards Muscat (which is in Oman) before they finally continue on to where they were originally going.
If Pakistan keeps its airspace closed to Indian flights for a whole month, it could cost Indian airlines somewhere between $10 million and $15 million in total extra expenses. That’s according to Linus Bauer, who started and runs a consulting company called BAA & Partners in the UAE.
This extra cost of $10 to $15 million includes things like more money spent on fuel and paying the flight crews for working extra hours. But it also includes money the airlines are losing in other ways, like when they have to cancel flights, can’t carry as much cargo, and when their flight schedules become less dependable, according to Linus Bauer.
Flying longer routes is adding $1,350 to $3,000 per flight just in extra fuel, which is already the biggest cost for airlines (around 25%). Because of this, experts say ticket prices for everyone will likely go up. Also, since airlines from other countries can still fly over Pakistan, they might have cheaper flights than Indian airlines on these routes.
The government is talking to Indian airlines to figure out how much the Pakistan airspace closure is hurting them and how to fix it for both the airlines and passengers. However, Indian airlines are already thinking about raising ticket prices. They’ve also asked the government for money to help cover their extra costs so they don’t have to increase fares. The Civil Aviation Minister said they’re looking at other flight paths and want to avoid making things worse for regular passengers.
Regarding keeping flight times and costs the same, Minister Naidu mentioned flying over the Himalayas as a possible route, but noted it depends on the aircraft and crew’s capabilities. Pakistan closed its airspace at 6 pm on April 24th. Two Indian planes already inside were allowed to continue, but an IndiGo flight nearing the border from Iran had to divert to Ahmedabad for fuel.
Pakistan closed its airspace at 6 pm on April 24th. Two Indian planes already inside were allowed to proceed. However, an IndiGo flight (1428) near the Pakistani border while flying from Sharjah to Amritsar had to turn back and land in Ahmedabad for fuel, according to flightradar24.
News says the Indian government is also thinking about closing its own airspace to Pakistani airplanes. If they do that, Pakistani planes would have to fly all the way around over China or Sri Lanka to get to places in Southeast Asia like Kuala Lumpur. India is also considering stopping Pakistani ships from docking at Indian ports.