Pakistan's air attack on two Indian military aircraft on Tuesday resulted in an unexpected move by Pakistan: it closed its airspace, affecting all flights passing over its territory. India also partially closed its airspace in the north of the country, adding to the confusion. By Friday, the situation had almost returned to normal, but many passengers are still waiting for full flights between Europe and South-East Asia.
This primarily concerns traffic from South-East Asia to the Middle East and Europe, as well as flights to and from Delhi. Bangkok was the airport most affected, with more than 5000 passengers strandedOn Wednesday and Thursday, the airlines cancelled a series of flights. Thai Airways International cancelled its 13 daily flights to Europe, including Paris, Brussels and Zurich, stranding 4,000 passengers. In all, Bangkok airport saw 36 flights cancelled on both departures and arrivals.
On Thursday, Thai Airways International changed its routes via China and Russia, causing delays of between 90 minutes and two hours. There are still 3,000 passengers waiting who should be able to return home by Sunday, according to Thera Buasri, Director of Ground Operations Control for Thailand's national airline.
Recovery has been slower than expected, with flights from Bangkok to Europe often fully booked due to Thailand's peak tourist season. On Wednesday, India also suspended flights from some of its northern airports. These facilities returned to normal on Thursday, but flights to Europe and the United States from New Delhi were affected.
For their part, Singapore Airlines and the carriers based in Singapore had to cancel their flights or, at best, switch their aircraft to other air routes. Flights departing from Singapore went further south or via the Persian Gulf, forcing some aircraft to stop over in Bombay or Dubai to refuel. Nearly 220 flights were affected on Wednesday.
On Friday, according to the Flightradar24.co website, which analyses aircraft movements in real time, the situation was back to normal, although delays of up to an hour on average were reported on some flights.
