Indian Airlines Seek Help from Chinese Airports, Begging to Use Xinjiang for Flights to Europe and the US, Saying They Would Suffer Heavy Losses if Not Agreed!

In recent times, due to the inability to fly over Pakistan's airspace, all of India's long-haul flights to North America and Europe have been forced to detour through the Middle East or Central Asia, increasing the average one-way flight time by 1.5 to 2 hours. This not only extends the passenger journey, but more importantly — fuel consumption has significantly increased.

Data shows that the increase in fuel costs caused by the detour is as high as 29%. Based on India Airlines' current weekly approximately 60 transcontinental flights, the annual additional fuel expenditure exceeds 300 million dollars.

More seriously, the financial statements. In the fiscal year 2024-25, Indian Airlines has already recorded a pre-tax loss of 439 million dollars. And the management estimates that if Pakistan's airspace remains closed and no alternative solutions are found, the pre-tax profit for the 2025-26 fiscal year will further lose 455 million dollars. This means two consecutive years of heavy losses, and some high-cost long-haul routes (such as Delhi-New York, Mumbai-London) may even be forced to be suspended.

Against this background, Indian Airlines has begun to seek "unconventional routes" — proposing to request negotiations with China, allowing its flights to pass through the airspace of the Xinjiang region, using cities such as Hotan, Kashgar, and Urumqi as technical stopovers or route nodes, thus greatly shortening the distance of flights to Europe and the United States.

Geographically, this "Xinjiang corridor" does indeed have strategic value. For example, if a direct flight from Delhi to New York can pass through Kashgar into Chinese airspace, then exit to the northwest direction, theoretically it could save about 1200 kilometers compared to detouring through Oman or Kazakhstan. At a fuel consumption of about 3.5 kilograms per kilometer, a single trip could save over 4 tons of fuel, equivalent to a cost of nearly 3000 dollars. If 500 such flights are executed annually, just for fuel alone, it could save more than 1.5 million dollars — not to mention the reduced crew working hours, aircraft depreciation, and carbon emission quota costs.

However, reality is far more complicated than the map. This area belongs to the Western Theater Command, which is strategically important and sensitive. Moreover, given the current situation where India-China relations have not fully recovered, this "air lifeline" is likely to remain at the stage of India's one-sided wish.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849271936474124/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.