Aggregated from publicly disclosed carrier projections, Indian industry body estimates, Pakistani Civil Aviation Authority statements, and aviation press reporting. Figures are projections; realised cost varies with fuel markets, capacity adjustments, and closure duration.
India–Pakistan Airspace Closure
Financial Cost Data (2025–2026)
Since Pakistan closed OPKR (Karachi FIR) and OPLR (Lahore FIR) to Indian-registered carriers on 24 April 2025, aggregated industry projections place the annualised cost to the Indian civil aviation sector at approximately $850–950 million per year. This page collects the per-carrier and per-route figures that compose that aggregate.
Per-Carrier Annual Impact
| Carrier | Annual Projected Cost | Primary Exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Air India | $600M | Europe & Middle East trunk long-haul |
| IndiGo | $180M | Gulf, Central Asia, emerging long-haul |
| SpiceJet | ~$25M | Gulf short- and medium-haul |
| Air India Express | ~$40M | Gulf high-frequency |
| Vistara (legacy frequencies) | Merged into Air India | Consolidated under Air India projections |
SpiceJet and Air India Express figures are conservative estimates based on reported monthly industry aggregate of ₹307 crore (~$37M) across the sector and each carrier's share of Gulf exposure. Carrier-specific projections have not been separately disclosed at the same level of granularity as Air India and IndiGo.
Route-Level Block-Time Extensions
Westbound long-haul rotations from Indian metros route via the Arabian Sea and OOMM (Muscat FIR), adding 400–700 nautical miles per one-way rotation depending on destination.
| Route | Pre-Closure | Post-Closure | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEL ⇄ LHR | ~8h 30m | ~10h 30m | +2h |
| BOM ⇄ FRA | ~9h 15m | ~10h 45m | +1h 30m |
| DEL ⇄ CDG | ~8h 45m | ~10h 30m | +1h 45m |
| BOM ⇄ LHR | ~9h 00m | ~10h 15m | +1h 15m |
| DEL ⇄ DXB | ~3h 20m | ~4h 10m | +50m |
| DEL ⇄ DOH | ~3h 50m | ~4h 40m | +50m |
| BOM ⇄ DXB | ~3h 00m | ~3h 40m | +40m |
What Makes Up the Cost?
Each hour of additional block time on a widebody rotation burns approximately 2,000–2,500 kg of fuel. At industry jet fuel prices of ~$900/tonne, a DEL–LHR rotation pays $1,800–2,200 per direction in added fuel alone.
Extended block time pushes toward duty-period limits. Some rotations require augmented crew or layover extensions. Indirect scheduling costs across the network grow with the frequency of affected rotations.
A widebody generating fewer hours per day due to longer rotations yields less revenue per aircraft. Yield per available seat kilometre falls even if ticket price holds.
Additional FIRs on the reroute (OOMM, OEJD, LTAA in some routings) each charge overflight. Pakistan forfeits $14.4M/year in its own overflight revenues while the closure is active.
How Does This Compare to the 2019 Closure?
The 2025 closure runs into a fleet and frequency profile an order of magnitude larger than 2019. Air India's post-Tata long-haul expansion and IndiGo's international entry mean the sector has materially higher exposure to OPKR/OPLR unavailability than in 2019.
Source Categories
Figures on this page are aggregated from publicly available disclosures, including:
- Air India and IndiGo carrier projections reported in Indian and international aviation press
- Indian aviation industry body monthly aggregate estimates (Federation of Indian Airlines / FIA)
- Pakistani Civil Aviation Authority statements on overflight fee revenue
- Aviation Week, Flight Global, Simple Flying, and Reuters aviation desk coverage
- Historical context from 2019 closure reporting
Related
Figures on this page are aggregated from publicly available sources. They are projections, not audited financial statements. FlySafe does not warrant the accuracy of third-party disclosures and makes no recommendation based on these figures. See Terms of Service.