00:00Iran's war is now paralyzing one of the world's busiest aviation corridors.
00:04Drone attacks and sweeping airspace closures across West Asia
00:07have forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights,
00:10sending shockwaves through global aviation and hitting Indian carriers hard.
00:15Here's a report on how the war is turning out,
00:17especially where the region's skies are concerned.
00:32The unforgettable visuals of the world's second busiest international airport,
00:37Dubai, under attack by Iranian drones.
00:41For six days now, it has been shut to flights with massive global repercussions.
00:47The Iran war is now sending shockwaves far beyond the battlefield
00:52into one of the world's most critical economic arteries, global aviation.
00:57West Asia is the crossroads of global air travel.
01:02And right now, that crossroads looks more like a dead end.
01:06Airspace closures across Iran, the Gulf and surrounding regions
01:11have forced airlines worldwide to cancel thousands of flights
01:15and reroute aircraft far away from the very region.
01:20The numbers are staggering.
01:24More than 27,000 flights have been cancelled to West Asia's major hubs.
01:29Hundreds of thousands of passengers have been left stranded.
01:32And key air corridors across the Gulf are now off-limits.
01:36Major transit hubs like Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi,
01:40the beating heart of a long-haul aviation,
01:42and hubs of giant carriers Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad
01:47have been shut or severely restricted,
01:50sending shockwaves through airline schedules worldwide.
01:55With West Asian airspace closed,
01:57airlines are being forced to take massive detours.
02:01Flights from Europe to India, Southeast Asia and Australia
02:05are now flying thousands of extra kilometres.
02:09For the aviation industry, it's a quadruple whammy.
02:12Flights are longer by two to four hours.
02:16Thousands of additional tonnes of jet fuel are being burnt
02:18and global flight schedules have been thrown into chaos.
02:23And the crisis doesn't stop there.
02:25Jet fuel prices are soaring as market-sphere supply disruptions
02:29linked to the conflict.
02:30Prices have hit their highest level since 2022
02:34and are rising way faster than crude oil.
02:38Airlines are facing massive operating pressure.
02:41Fuel is already the single biggest expense for most airlines.
02:46Now, it's becoming the most unpredictable one as well.
02:50Airlines in India are feeling the turbulence directly.
02:52Flights connecting India to Europe,
02:54the US and Africa often pass through West Asian airspace.
02:58Now, airlines are scrambling.
03:01Indigo has been forced to cancel most of its lucrative European and Gulf routes.
03:05Air India, SpiceJet and Acasa Air are also taking a significant hit.
03:09Reports put Indigo's daily losses at 4 to 5 crore rupees.
03:14For SpiceJet, the figure is lower, 25 to 35 lakh rupees a day.
03:19Both airlines are listed.
03:21And since hostilities began,
03:23their market capitalisation has dropped by nearly 11%.
03:27Air India is also facing up to a 40% operational impact.
03:31Meanwhile, Indian airlines have been launching rescue flights for stranded passengers across West Asia.
03:38Tourists, business travellers, migrant workers,
03:41the list of those waiting to leave the region is long.
03:44For airlines, these operations are expensive, but essential.
03:50Flights must operate despite their own economic turbulence,
03:54because when war shuts down the skies,
03:57it's ironically the airlines which carry the responsibility of bringing passengers home.
04:05Bureau Report, Business Today TV.
Comments