Simple Flying - Pranjal Pande
Served by four airlines, flight times on this key route have been greatly affected by new airspace restrictions over Russia in recent weeks.
Flights between India and the UK are some of the busiest long-haul flights from the country, carrying millions of passengers every year. However, the ongoing war in Ukraine has reshaped the airspace above, forcing some airlines to avoid Russian territory while flying. This has given Indian airlines a time and price advantage, but not everyone has chosen to use it just yet. Here's a look at the market today.
Travel between India and London has long been affected by airspace restrictions. In 2019, Pakistan's closure of overflight rights to airlines flying to India forced longer flight times and prices as airlines tried new routes for months. Similarly, Afghanistan has been off-limits to all flights since August, adding a few more minutes to once a simple route through to Europe. Now, Russia has become the country airlines are avoiding, but only some of them.
