PTI file photo
NEW DELHI: IndiGo cancelled Sunday its Tbilisi, Almaty, Tashkent and Baku services till Jan 28 and announced refuelling halts on several flights to the CIS region as rising tensions around Iran are rippling through Indian aviation, forcing flight cancellations, fuel stops and fresh route reviews.As airlines scrambled to keep aircraft out of potentially hostile airspace, IndiGo said on X: “In view of the recent developments around Iran, we are making certain proactive changes to our flight schedules as part of our continued focus on safety.”Air India is reassessing its transcontinental operations as the situation evolves. The carrier had already stopped overflying Iran on Europe-bound routes after a Jan 16 advisory from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency warned of a heightened risk to civil aviation. “Given the ongoing situation and the potential for US military action, which has placed Iranian air defence forces on a heightened state of alert, there is currently an increased likelihood of misidentification within Iranian airspace,” the EASA advisory said. It warned that the possible use of surface-to-air missile systems created “a high risk to civil flights operating at all altitudes and flight levels,” urging operators to avoid Iranian airspace entirely. Air India complied on European routes, as the advisory applies to third-country operators authorised by EASA when flying to, from or within EU. Many airlines, including Air India, have instead been routing flights over Iraq. Flights to and from North America are now under review. Air India plans to reassess routing once services resume after a snowstorm disrupted operations along the US east coast.
