Iran airspace closure: passengers experience flight delays, cancellations

The escalating conflict between Israel and Iran has started to take a toll on air passengers with flight services from the country to West Asian destinations affected by the closure of Iran airspace. Some flights to West Asian destinations from airports in Kerala were disrupted and some were cancelled on Tuesday.

Two Air India Express flights operating to Kerala — Abu Dhabi- Thiruvananthapuram and Sharjah- Kozhikode — were cancelled. Further, there were hours-long delay in the departure and arrival of many flights heading to and from the State to West Asian destinations.

Speaking to The Hindu, a senior airline source says, in fact, the airlines heading to European countries and the United States from India have been using the Iranian airspace.

Earlier, a good number of these flights were using Pakistan and Afghanistan airspace. However, these flights started overflying Iran soon after Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian carriers on April 24 amid escalating tension following the Pahalgam terror attack.

Now, with the closure of the Iranian airspace, these flights have switched over to Muscat airspace, taking a longer route to avoid the strife-torn region. With the carriers using the Muscat airspace, which has been used by airlines operating from southern India to reach West Asian countries, the airspace over Muscat is now choked with flights.

With the airspace being congested, there have been hours-long delays in getting air traffic control clearance for take-off even after passengers boarded the flights. This had a cascading effect leading to delays and cancellations of flights, says a senior officer with Kuwait Airways.

“We don’t know how long it will take, and now the airlines are operating through this region based on a daily contingency plan,” he says.

The airlines have also issued advisories alerting passengers to flight delays and rerouting due to the escalating tension in the region. Airports in Dubai confirmed on Monday that passengers may experience significant delays and cancellations due to the disruptions caused by the airspace closure over Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Dubai airport authorities have also urged travellers to check with their airlines for the latest flight updates.