American and United canceled flights to India on Wednesday as carriers worked to adjust routes away from the contentious border region.
An Air India 787 in London (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Airlines are canceling some flights to and from India and Pakistan and rerouting others to avoid the region as fighting between the neighboring countries escalates.
According to WFAA, American canceled a non-stop flight from Delhi to New York City on Wednesday as India began fighting against Pakistan. The carrier said it flew its aircraft out of Delhi with only its crew onboard.
Separately, Reuters reported that United canceled its non-stop Newark-Delhi flight on Wednesday.
Both carriers’ websites show those flights have resumed.
India’s civil aviation authority has closed 27 airports in the country’s west and northwest, forcing carriers like Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet to suspend dozens of flights, most of them domestic. Air India has said it will not fly to cities including Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jammu, and Jamnagar until at least Saturday.
Indonesia’s Batik Air, Taiwan-based China Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysian Airlines, Thai Airways, and Vietnam Airlines have all canceled or rerouted flights to avoid the region, and Air France, Dutch airline KLM, and Singapore Airlines have said they will no longer fly through Pakistan’s airspace. Lufthansa is reportedly continuing its Delhi-Frankfurt route by navigating over the Arabian Sea rather than the Indian-Pakistani border area.
FlightAware currently shows a large number of flights to and from India traveling south over the Persian Gulf, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman to bypass Pakistan.
India launched missiles into Pakistan this week in retaliation for the massacre of civilians at a popular tourist destination in the Indian-administered section of Kashmir last month. The Indian government holds Pakistan partially responsible because the militant group behind the attack operates from inside the Pakistani-controlled section of Kashmir.
Pakistan has retaliated by firing artillery and launching missiles at Indian towns near the border.
The U.S. State Department has issued a “Do Not Travel” warning for Indian Kashmir, citing the high risk of terrorism and civil unrest.
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