New Delhi/Hong Kong: In a bold and unprecedented move, Air India has urged the Indian government to diplomatically plead with Beijing for permission to fly through a highly sensitive Chinese military airspace in Xinjiang, revealing the crippling financial damage caused by Pakistan’s ongoing overflight ban.
A confidential Air India document submitted to Indian authorities in late October, reviewed by Reuters, estimates the Pakistan airspace closure—imposed after April tensions—is costing the Tata-owned carrier a staggering $455 million annually in lost profit, pushing fuel costs up 29% and adding up to three hours on long-haul routes to North America and Europe.
To survive, Air India wants emergency access to the restricted Hotan-Kashgar corridor and diversion rights to military-dominated airports in Xinjiang’s west, currently off-limits to all foreign carriers. The route sits inside the People’s Liberation Army’s Western Theater Command—the same unit tasked with any potential India conflict—and is surrounded by 20,000-ft peaks that pose severe decompression risks.
Analysts call approval “highly doubtful” given recent Chinese airbase expansions at Hotan and Beijing’s iron grip on military airspace. Without the shortcut, Air India warns routes like Mumbai-San Francisco are “becoming unviable,” forcing technical stops and driving passengers to foreign rivals with shorter Pakistan-permitted paths.
The airline, still reeling from June’s deadly Gujarat Dreamliner crash, has already axed Delhi-Washington flights and slashed 15% capacity on remaining U.S./Canada routes. Air India is also quietly seeking temporary government subsidies and relief from $725 million in pre-privatisation tax liabilities.
Neither Air India, India’s aviation ministry, nor Chinese authorities have commented.