Kolkata controllers assist international flights as original north-west routes reopen after airspace restrictions

Time of India

13-05-2025

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Kolkata: Six days after the air traffic control in Kolkata scrambled to re-route all overflying aircraft from South-East Asia to Europe in the wake of Operation Sindoor, controllers on Tuesday helped some international flights revert to the original routes across north-west India and Pakistan.
Though the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) on airspace restrictions to the west of Delhi was withdrawn on Monday morning, it took around 24 hours for the first aircraft to venture into the airspace that was buzzing with drones and missiles last week.The development brought relief to foreign carriers operating flights between Europe and South-East Asia as the detour via Mumbai and the Gulf pushed up fuel consumption and hiked operating costs, leaving the routes in the red."The closure of the route and the diversion of flights was similar to what would happen if any arterial road like EM Bypass is shut down suddenly. Cars will take diversions provided by police. Controllers in Kolkata did so in the early hours of May 7. When the shut route or Bypass then reopens, some cars will continue to travel along the alternative route because they already planned to do so along the route or want to wait till they are sure all is fine in the shut stretch of the Bypass. We have again provided the information to pilots that the earlier routes are back in operation. Some pilots are choosing to revert to the old route and we are ensuring safe navigation," explained a controller.Pakistan announced the reopening of its airspace shortly after the ceasefire was announced on Saturday evening. But India waited a couple of days to make sure the ceasefire violations stopped before announcing the decision to lift the restriction on its airspace.During the restriction, nearly 800 flights that used to fly over Delhi before heading into Pakistan en route to Europe were redirected via Mumbai and the Gulf or Muscat.While the workload of controllers in Kolkata suddenly spiked on May 7 night and in the early hours of May 8, controllers in Mumbai ATC have been bearing the brunt of the additional load since then. While the Mumbai FIR used to handle 1,200 overflights prior to the airspace restriction, it has had to handle nearly 2,000 flights in the past four days."The northern section of Mumbai's oceanic airspace, typically busy, became increasingly congested as controllers directed additional flights through several routes. Yemen's airspace, situated south of these routes, remains an area most airlines prefer to avoid," explained a controller.**BOX**European-bound flights typically traverse Kolkata, Delhi, Pakistan, then Tajikistan and Uzbekistan before entering European airspace.Aircraft travelling to and from West Asia traditionally utilise routes via Yangon and India before entering Middle East airspace. Aircraft from Singapore and Far East nations typically enter via Malaysian airspace. Some aircraft access Pakistan's airspace after India before proceeding to the Middle East.During the closure, aircraft were directed via Mumbai to Muscat across the Arabian Sea and then east of Iraq and Turkiye before reaching Europe. MSID:: 121139183 413 |