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Gautam Kumar Mishra, New Delhi. Iran on Wednesday temporarily closed the airspace around its capital Tehran amid rising tensions with the US and nationwide protests. Iran's airspace remained closed for about five hours.
It is feared that the closure amid tensions may have been caused by missile launch or air defense activities, increasing the threat to civil aircraft. However, the closed airspace was opened from Thursday morning, which brought relief. But in view of the tension, the danger of closure of Iran's air space still looms. During this closure, there were problems in flights connected to many countries of the world including India.
Talking about Indian aviation companies, Air India, Indigo and SpiceJet were badly affected, they had to cancel many international flights. IndiGo flight number 6E1808 was the last non-Iranian flight to pass through Iranian airspace, leaving just minutes before the closure.
Let us tell you that Iran's airspace is an important route for east-west flights. The closure forced airlines to resort to alternative routes to the north or south, increasing flight times by 30–60 minutes. Air India clarified that they are rerouting flights while giving priority to safety, but where not possible, flights are being cancelled.
Flights like Delhi-New York (AI 101), Delhi-Newark (AI 105) and Mumbai-New York (AI 119) were cancelled. Return flights of these flights were also affected. On the other hand, Indigo's Baku-Delhi flight was to pass over Iran after crossing the Caspian Sea, but due to the lockdown it had to return to Baku. SpiceJet also issued a similar advisory, urging passengers to check flight status.
The most immediate impact of the closure has been on Indian travellers. Flights from India to Europe, America and Central Asia were most affected. A large number of passengers got stuck at the airport, flights were delayed or cancelled. Air India posted on Twitter saying that due to the closure of airspace due to the situation in Iran, our flights are going on alternative routes, which may cause delays. Where diversion is not possible, flights are being cancelled.
IndiGo's Mumbai-Tbilisi and Tbilisi-Mumbai flights were canceled for Friday. IndiGo gave affected passengers the option of flexible rebooking or full refund. SpiceJet also said that the safety of passengers and crew is the top priority. Passengers were advised to check the website before arriving at the airport.
People associated with aviation say that the tension related to Iran will have a serious impact on aviation. Tourism and business travel will take a hit, especially in the winter season when travel to Europe and America increases. Adopting alternative routes will also increase costs for airlines due to increased fuel consumption during flights, which will put pressure on ticket prices.
Globally, airlines like Lufthansa also decided to avoid Iran and Iraq airspace, causing further delays on India-Europe routes. Experts say that if closures continue to occur frequently, airlines will have to develop permanent alternative routes, such as northern polar routes or southern sea routes, but these are affected by weather and geopolitical risks.