Pahalgam massacre: Pak airspace curbs lead to flight delays
With Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines from April 24 as a retaliatory measure in the wake of Pahalgam massacre, passengers from the region are grappling with uncertainty and paranoia.
“Indian carriers registered with the government have been affected due to the closure of Pakistan’s airspace. However, no impact has been witnessed on international carriers,” said SK Kapahi, Airport Director, Sri Guru Ram Dass International Airport.
Sharing her travel experience, a woman passenger who boarded Toronto to New Delhi flight on April 27, said the airspace closure led to a delay of 20 hours.
Her husband, Paramvir Singh, now settled in Toronto, said, “We had booked Toronto to Delhi (YYZ-DEL) non-stop Air India flight months in advance. My wife was to report back to work on April 28.”
He added, “Air India informed us of delay only on the morning of April 27 — too late to book another flight. My wife waited around 2 hours at a check-in shared with another delayed flight, only to be told her flight was further postponed.”
He said, “After more delays and an extended route circumventing Pakistan’s airspace, the 13-hour journey stretched to more than 16 hours. She landed in Delhi at 10 pm on April 28 — more than 20 hours later than expected due to the backlog.”
On Monday, Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said the government was working closely with airlines to minimise the impact on the average Indian traveller.
The sudden disruption has forced passengers to reconsider their travel plans. Gurpreet Singh, a California-based businessman, who hails from Punjab, has put his Kashmir vacation on a hold. “I am worried about India-Pakistan tensions. I prefer to use Amritsar airport, but the airspace closure raises doubts about the security and practicality of travelling to India right now,” he said.
