150,000 passengers got stranded at the airports after Pakistan shuts down airspace. Millions of dollars lost!
On 14th February 2019, a Pakistan-based militant group killed 40 Indian security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Once the perpetrators announced their involvement, the Indian Air Force (IAF) went into Pakistan to destroy one of JeM’s (Jaish e-Mohammed) main training camp at Balakot, Pakistan.
Due to the increased tension between the neighbouring nations, Pakistan closed its airspace to prevent civilian casualties. This resulted in a huge loss of time and money for the airlines which use Pakistan airspace to reach India and parts of South-East Asia.
The monetary implications so far
Instalocate analysed thousands of flights flying from Delhi airport from Feb 27, 2019 to Mar 5, 2019 and found that more than 35% of total flights from Delhi were impacted due to this airspace closure, leaving almost 150,000 people stranded at the airport due to flight delays and cancellations.
An average expense made by a passenger in case of flight disruption is $200 which amounts to an approximate loss of $30 million (INR 210 crores) amounting from various cancellations of previously arranged lodgings and transportation and getting new ones in place.
The incident also had a significant impact on airlines. It caused to waste millions of gallons of aviation fuel on the extra flying hours. As per our data, the airlines consumed an additional six million gallons of fuel, resulting in a loss of over $12 million (85 crores INR) in just a week.
Who is going to cover for these expenses?
While most of the mentioned losses to the airlines would be covered by insurance, it is undeniable that it was the passenger who suffered the most. For instance, the airlines are not even liable to pay any compensation for cancellations on the pretext of “extraordinary circumstances”.
From planned business trips and en route vacation stops to emergency travel arrangements and closed airports, the conflict ended up affecting the lives of not only those from the two countries but also who were just passing by or were planning to.
The current situation is that Pakistan airspace is still closed “until further notice”. Caution remains to be in the air, and there’s no telling how long this turbulence will be here to last.
