IndiGo says ‘last-minute airspace restrictions’ led Manchester-bound flight to return to Delhi amid Middle East conflict

An IndiGo flight, 6E 033, bound for Manchester and operated using a leased Boeing 787 aircraft, returned to Delhi on Monday. It cited “last-minute airspace restrictions”, noting the changing situation in and around the Middle East could lead to some of its flights taking longer routes or being diverted.

There were certain restrictions as the aircraft approached Eritrean airspace, according to PTI citing sources.

What did IndiGo say?

"Our flight 6E 033 operating from Delhi to Manchester, had to return to its origin due to last minute airspace restrictions, owing to the ongoing situation in West Asia. We are working with the relevant authorities to explore the possibilities of resuming the journey. As always, safety and security of our customers, crew and aircraft is of utmost importance to us", IndiGo stated.

Eritrea is located in Africa. The airline currently operates its services to European destinations and London, except Athens, using Boeing 787-9 aircraft leased from Norway’s Norse Atlantic Airways, the report noted.

Following the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has restricted aircraft registered with it, including those of Norse Atlantic, from flying through certain Middle Eastern airspaces such as Saudi Arabia. Due to these restrictions, IndiGo has begun taking a longer route via Africa to reach Europe.

For its European services, the airline now flies over the Arabian Sea, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Red Sea and Egypt before entering European airspace. However, flights to Athens continue to be operated using IndiGo’s A321 XLR aircraft. Under normal circumstances, Indian airlines typically pass through Middle Eastern airspace, including Saudi Arabia, when operating flights to Europe.

Middle East conflict

Tehran was engulfed in thick black smoke after an oil refinery was struck, marking an escalation in attacks on Iran’s domestic energy infrastructure and seemingly prompting strikes on Washington’s Gulf Arab allies, as per AP

Heavy smoke was also seen rising from a refinery in Bahrain, where the state-owned oil company Bapco declared force majeure.

Meanwhile, the military of Israel said on Monday that it had carried out strikes in central Iran and targeted the Lebanese capital Beirut. Israel has widened its operations there after the Iran-backed group Hezbollah launched attacks across the border. It also conducted what it described as a limited ground raid in southern Lebanon.

According to Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, joint US-Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and injured thousands more. Lebanese authorities have also reported dozens of fatalities. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was also killed on February 28 in joint strikes.

In Israel, ambulance officials said a man died from shrapnel injuries at a construction site near Ben Gurion Airport on Monday, bringing the total number of deaths from Iranian attacks in the country to 11.