Airlines cancel, reroute flights after India-Pakistan clashes

Aircraft of Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines line up at Incheon International Airport on Monday. YONHAP

BANGKOK, Thailand — Clashes between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan on Wednesday sent airlines scrambling to cancel, divert or reroute flights.

The neighbors and longtime rivals exchanged heavy artillery fire along their contested frontier after India launched missile strikes in retaliation for a deadly attack last month.

Here is a round-up of what airlines are doing to avoid flying over the conflict zone.

READ: Explosions and fire on the contested India-Pakistan border

South Korea

Korean Air has begun rerouting its flights from Seoul Incheon to Dubai, using a southern route that passes over Myanmar, Bangladesh and India, instead of the previous path through Pakistani airspace.

“We are currently monitoring the situation for further changes,” a Korean Air official told AFP.

Taiwan

Taiwan’s China Airlines said several flights have been diverted or canceled.

Two flights from Taipei to Frankfurt and Amsterdam “made a technical diversion to Bangkok” before returning to the Taiwanese capital.

Three flights from Taipei to Prague, Rome and London were cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“China Airlines continues to monitor the situation and will adjust flight schedules as needed,” it said.

EVA Air said it will adjust flights to and from Europe “based on actual conditions to avoid affected airspace to ensure the safety of crew members and passengers”.

A flight from Vienna to Bangkok will return to the Austrian capital while a flight from Taipei to Milan will be diverted to Vienna for refueling and then continue to the Italian city, the airline said in a statement.

READ: ‘World cannot afford’ India-Pakistan confrontation – UN

Russia

Russian national carrier Aeroflot said all its flights from Moscow to and from India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and the Seychelles would be rerouted.

Singapore

Singapore Airlines said its flights have been rerouted to avoid Pakistani airspace.

Malaysia

Malaysia Airlines rerouted two flights from Kuala Lumpur — one to London Heathrow and one to Paris Charles de Gaulle. They stopped in Doha before continuing their journeys.

The carrier also suspended all flights to and from India’s Amritsar until May 9.

Thailand

Thai Airways said it was rerouting flights to destinations in Europe and South Asia from 5 a.m. on Wednesday (2200 GMT Tuesday) to avoid Pakistani airspace, warning of possible delays.

At least eight flights to European cities were affected, the airline said, while a return flight scheduled to go from Bangkok to Islamabad and back again on Wednesday was cancelled.

France

Air France said its planes would avoid flying over Pakistan until further notice and warned this would mean longer flight times for services to Delhi, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Airlines said its flights were unaffected and there is no change to its four weekly flights to Pakistan’s Lahore and Karachi.