New Delhi: Air India, the only Indian airline with flight routes over Russia, has indicated it will continue to use Russian airspace, even though several other airlines were rerouting following Russia’s apology, though without directly taking the blame, for the downing of an Azerbaijani aircraft in Russian airspace on 25 December.
In response to a query on whether Air India would consider avoiding Russian airspace, an airline spokesperson told ThePrint that each flight and its route was assessed for risks. “All our flights are assessed for any potential security or safety risks on every route throughout the network,” the spokesperson said in an emailed response. Adding, “Adjustments are made, if required, to avoid areas of risk with minimal impact on our non-stop operations. The safety of our passengers and crew is top priority at Air India.”
The airline, however, did not respond to specific queries about what measures it would take to avoid such incidents while flying over conflict zones.
On 25 December, Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243 crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people onboard. While Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said the aircraft was shot at from Russia soil “by accident”, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised for the incident but stopped short of taking responsibility.
This article is FREE to read
We need your support to sustain good journalism and empower us to deliver unhyphenated, hard-hitting news, insightful opinions, and ground reports.
Putin, however, did admit that Russian air defence forces were repelling a series of Ukrainian drone attacks. The aircraft, which was on its way to Grozny in Russia, had unexpectedly diverted towards Kazakhstan and crashed while attempting to land in Aktau.
Following the incident, several airlines, including Turkmenistan Airlines, UAE’s Flydubai, Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air and Israeli airline El Al announced the temporary suspension of flights to Russia.
While Air India currently does not operate direct flights to Russian cities, it utilises Russian airspace for its flights to the US and Canada.
Following the start of the war between Ukraine and Russia in 2022, most western countries had imposed sanctions on Russian airlines, a move that Russia reciprocated by closing its airspace to them.
Also Read: Azerbaijan president confirms plane shot down by Russia after Putin apologises for ‘tragic incident’
‘Air India takes shortest route’
Air India is the only Indian airline that flies over Russia, according to Ian Petchenik, director of communications at Flightradar24.
“Indian airlines, which really is Air India because none of the other (Indian) airlines operate routes that will be affected by this (conflict) quite yet,” Petchenik had told ThePrint in September this year. “Air India routes have not been affected as they continue to fly over Russia. So they continue to take the shortest route.”
Flight routes, as tracked on Flight Radar, show that Air India flies over Russia to Toronto (AI 187) and to New York (AI 101).
According to experts, flying over Russia to the US and Canada can help save Air India around 1-1.5 hours, giving it an edge over competitors on time and money.
Last year in June, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson defended the airline’s use of Russian airspace. Speaking at a meeting of the International Air Transport Association, Wilson had said: “At Air India, we operate in accordance with the ambit of what’s provided to us by the nation. Not all nations agree — there are going to be different outcomes as a consequence.”
In April 2022, however, the airline stopped direct flights to Moscow after its international insurance underwriters flagged security concerns. According to reports, insurers prohibited its flights from landing or taking off from Russia and Ukraine.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also Read: More than 50% of 34 IAF plane crashes in 2017-2022 due to human error, says parliamentary report