IndiGo, Air India skirt Iranian airspace; fly alternative routes for long-haul flights

New Delhi, IndiGo and Air India have stopped using the Iranian airspace and are flying alternative routes for their long-haul flights, according to officials.

With the alternative routes, flights to destinations in Europe, UK, and the US are taking longer, which also means burning more fuel.

On Wednesday, IndiGo said it will adjust its long-haul flights operated with leased Dreamliners, wherein services to Copenhagen will be suspended from February 17 while the flights on Delhi-London-Heathrow and Delhi-Manchester routes will also be reduced.


In a statement, the airline said its wide-body operation has faced external operational constraints such as continuously changing airspace constraints due to geopolitical circumstances, congestion at airports both in India and abroad.

"These factors significantly increased flight and block times causing strain over the airline's 787-9 schedule that is operated with six wide-body aircraft," it said.

An Air India source said in view of the developing situation in Iran, the airline is using an alternative route for west-bound flights to destinations in the US, the UK and Europe.

Among other destinations, Air India operates flights to various US cities as well as Toronto and Vancouver in Canada.

The source also said the airline continues to monitor and assess the safety and security environment for its flight operations through a risk-assessment process.

The process is supported by inputs from global aviation safety agencies and specialist security advisory partners, and plan its operations proactively as needed, the source added.