NEW DELHI: Closure of multiple countries’ airspaces and enhanced surveillance on Air India Dreamliners in the wake of the Ahmedabad crash is causing cascading delays for travellers. With Iran airspace closed, Dubai air traffic control is seeing a massive surge in diverted traffic it is handling, similar to Mumbai ATC.Air India has found its flying time to and from the West increased by about an hour as Iranian and Jordan airspaces have been closed. AI Dreamliners, which fly to and from Europe and UK, are facing a higher turnaround time.Coupled with the enhanced checks ordered by DGCA on Dreamliners, this is making it difficult for AI to keep its schedules. Sunday’s Delhi-Paris service was cancelled. The Sydney flight could not operate. These sectors are served by Dreamliners.Till Sunday evening, checks on 22 AI Dreamliners (out of a total of 33) had been completed. AI had warned of Dreamliner flights getting impacted on Saturday. “AI is in the process of completing the one-time safety checks directed by DGCA. These are being carried out on the Boeing 787 fleet as they return to India, before being cleared for their next operations… Some of these checks could lead to higher turnaround time and potential delays...,” the airline said.The lags have spilt beyond AI. Over the weekend, multiple flights between India and Dubai were delayed. Indian carriers’ flights to and from north India are facing longer delays than those to and from south India, say airlines sources.“We have to board passengers on time so we do not miss our departure slot at Dubai. Then there’s often a long wait to get take-off clearance, which is not a comfortable experience for passengers on board aircraft on a very hot tarmac at this time of the year. The home airline (Emirates) understandably gets preferential treatment at its hub,” said a source.Many harried flyers took to social media to highlight their plight. Dubai Airports issued an advisory: “Some flights at Dubai International (DXB) and DWC (Al Maktoum, Dubai’s second airport) are cancelled or delayed due to airspace closures over parts of the region. Please check with your airline for the latest updates…”SpiceJet revealed Sunday that it was “experiencing massive air traffic control congestion at Dubai”. Some other airports in the region, like Sharjah-based Air Arabia, were similarly impacted.
