Flights Go Off Grid: West Asia Chaos Costs India’s Airlines Rs 220 Cr in 48 Hours
Across Air India, IndiGo and Akasa, disruptions over 48 hours have triggered an estimated Rs 180-220 crore hit, driven by last‑minute long‑haul scrubs, fuel burn, crew resets and heavy passenger reaccommodation costs.
Indian airlines have taken a combined hit of up to Rs 220 crore in just 48 hours as severe West Asia airspace disruptions force a wave of cancellations and costly reroutes to Western destinations.
Across Air India, IndiGo and Akasa, disruptions over 48 hours have triggered an estimated Rs 180-220 crore hit, driven by last‑minute long‑haul scrubs, fuel burn, crew resets and heavy passenger reaccommodation costs.
Akasa Air, with a smaller international footprint, faces a more modest but still material impact of Rs 5–8 crore, largely from Dubai and Doha cancellations.
“It’s hard to commute loss, but the top line one can estimate is about Re 20 crores a day wiped out,” a low-cost carrier official told The Core.
Why Is This So?
India’s international aviation map is heavily skewed toward the Gulf, with West Asia accounting for about 41% of all outbound traffic, making it by far the country’s largest overseas corridor.
Europe follows at 14-15%, reflecting both limited nonstop capacity and the dominance of Gulf hubs on connecting flows. Direct long‑haul to the US forms 5-6% of India’s international passenger base, a niche but high‑yield segment shaped by a handful of nonstop routes and substantial one‑stop traffic funnelled through Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi.
While IndiGo has cancelled all its flights to Heathrow, Amsterdam, Manchester and Athens till the end of March 2, The Core learns it could consider starting flights by an alternative route presently being used by Air India on March 4.
For a carrier that has come under so much flak, Air India deserves credit for anticipating that the airspace over West Asia would be shut, prompting its operations team to move quickly on securing new slots, parking bays, and refuelling stops- all of which come at a cost. The airline has also had to rework flight schedules and crew rosters at short notice to start operations from March 2.
Air India is the first Indian carrier to resume flying to London, Frankfurt and Paris after the first day of cancellations. Barring Zurich, Birmingham and Copenhagen today, all its flights to Europe, the UK and the US are operating now, the airline confirmed. The route to Europe, though 40 minutes longer, is via Oman, Southern Saudi Arabia, Egypt and then on to European destinations.
With Pakistan airspace closed, Air India’s non‑stop US services are now operating via Rome for refuelling, which also requires a change of flight crew, being an ultra-long-haul flight. An added hour and a half of flight time is likely.
“It’s been a nightmare…. but worth the effort,” an official admitted.
When Will Things Normalise?
The first Indian routes likely to resume are those serving stable, non‑impacted hubs — primarily Doha, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Riyadh, and Jeddah — because these airports have not suffered physical damage and their airspace restrictions are lighter.
Flights to Dubai and Sharjah should follow once the UAE authorities complete their rolling security assessments, while Bahrain may reopen selectively depending on continued threat monitoring.
