Shadow of war in the sky: Break on international flights due to Iran-Israel conflict, Delhi to London route most affected

New Delhi. The deepening clouds of war between Iran, America and Israel in the Middle East have broken the back of global air traffic. Due to the sound of war and security restrictions in the airspace, the mathematics of international flights flying from all the big cities of India including Delhi has deteriorated. The situation for passengers is that the travel hours have now become longer, while dozens of airlines have stopped their services for the time being.

More than 1000 flights affected in three days

If we look at the figures, common travelers are suffering the biggest brunt of this military tension. On February 28, about 410 flights of Indian Airlines were cancelled, while on March 1, 350 flights and on March 2, more than 300 flights are under threat. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is keeping a close watch on the situation and moment-to-moment monitoring is being done through the Passenger Assistance Control Room.

Increased troubles for travelers going to Europe

The biggest impact has been on those routes that connect European cities like London, Zurich, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam and Milan. Due to closure of airspace of Iran and Iraq, planes are being sent through long and alternative routes. Due to this, an increase of 2 to 4 hours has been recorded in the travel time. Some long-haul flights are having to make ‘technical stops’ in cities like Rome to refuel.

Big airlines raised their hands

The situation of air services at the international level is very worrying. Qatar Airways and Etihad have completely suspended their operations. At the same time, Emirates has canceled all its flights operating from Dubai till the afternoon of March 2. Europe’s leading airline Lufthansa has taken a major decision to stop its services to many destinations in the Middle East till March 7-8. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have also suspended flights to Riyadh, Dubai and Bahrain.

Indian companies were also affected

Globally, more than 1600 flights have been affected due to the restriction of airspace in Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and UAE. India’s major airlines ‘Air India’ and ‘IndiGo’ have also suspended their services to Gulf countries till the night of March 2. Airlines have strictly advised passengers to check the current status of their flights before leaving home and stay in touch with the concerned airline.