Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam on Tuesday said that airlines have been asked to make their own risk assessment with respect to their flight operations
New Delhi:
Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, the civil aviation ministry has asked airlines to carry out their own risk assessment on international flight operations. Air India, Vistara, IndiGo and various international airlines have opted for alternative flight paths to the West and are avoiding the Iranian airspace against the backdrop of tensions flaring up between Iran and Israel.
Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam on Tuesday told PTI that airlines have been asked to make their own risk assessment with respect to their flight operations.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is handholding and interacting with the airlines, and also in touch with the external affairs ministry, he added.
The secretary was responding to a query on whether there is an advisory by the ministry or the DGCA to airlines amid the crisis in the Middle East.
Air India is operating some of its international flights on alternative flight paths to and from India, and Vistara has also made changes to flight paths for some of its flights due to the Middle East situation. Also, Air India has temporarily suspended its flights to Tel Aviv.
The alternative flight paths have increased the duration of some of the international flights by around half an hour.
About the Middle East crisis, Suprio Banerjee, Vice President & Sector Head, Corporate Ratings at ICRA, said commercial airlines may have to take a longer route in order to comply with no-fly regulations, leading to higher fuel expenses.