Air travel under strain
West Asia fighting is actively disrupting air travel — widespread cancellations, fuel‑cost spikes and route changes have pushed fares up and forced airlines to cut long‑haul sectors, hitting India and global tourism flows ( ). Airlines face higher operating costs and longer routings that ripple into ticket prices and capacity planning across Europe–Asia lanes (x.com).
By March 3 the number of canceled flights to Middle East hubs had topped about 27,000, and by March 25 industry analysis put cumulative cancellations since Feb. 28 at roughly 70,000 as routings and hub capacity collapsed. (bloomberg.com) Ticket prices on Asia–Europe long‑haul sectors have jumped sharply — Alton/Cirium data show fares across seven popular Asia‑Pacific–Europe routes averaging about 70% higher year‑on‑year for June, and some short‑term spikes reported up to 560% on specific bookings. (bloomberg.com) Indian carriers have been among the hardest hit: Air India canceled around 50 Europe/North America flights on March 1 and has rerouted services that previously overflew Iran or Pakistan, IndiGo suspended many European services and introduced a fuel surcharge from March 14. (indianexpress.com) Rerouting is adding hours and stops — Air India’s Delhi–London non‑stop now takes over 12 hours versus roughly eight earlier, and Mumbai–New York has shifted from 13–14 hours non‑stop to one‑stop routings via Rome approaching 21 hours total. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) Carriers are passing costs to passengers and cutting capacity: Air India and IndiGo applied fuel surcharges in mid‑March, Cathay Pacific and AirAsia updated surcharges, and United warned it may cancel about 5% of planned flights if jet‑fuel stays elevated, citing an ~$11 billion annual fuel expense risk. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Demand and network planning have shifted — summer bookings from Europe to the US were down about 15% versus last year while airlines face tighter Gulf‑hub capacity and congested southern corridors that industry analysts say will keep fares elevated for months. (bloomberg.com)
