Why IAF C-17s are avoiding Pakistan airspace during Operation Ganga

There seems to be a valid reason why top officials are okay with flying half an hour extra via the Oman route

New Delhi, First Published Mar 3, 2022, 11:57 AM IST | Last Updated Mar 3, 2022, 12:00 PM IST

Amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Indian Air Force has preferred not to fly over Pakistan's airspace to evacuate stranded Indians from the countries neighbouring Ukraine.

To augment the Operation Ganga evacuation drive from countries bordering war-ravaged Ukraine, the government had asked the Indian Air Force to deploy its C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft to bring the nationals back home.

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Explaining the reason for avoiding the Pakistani airspace for the evacuation drive, a top official in the Indian Air Force said, "We do not want to take any favours in such a situation. Nothing is free. There is always give and take. So why go for it?"

It must be noted that the military aircraft have been using a route 200 km the south of Pakistan airspace via Oman airspace to reach Romania, Hungary and Poland.

"It is taking half an hour extra in taking the Oman route," he said.

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However, the civilian aircraft continue to use Pakistan airspace for bringing back the Indians who have been stuck in Ukraine and are currently taking shelter in the neighbouring nations.

So far, four Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft have returned to the Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad with 798 Indians onboard. On March 3, the IAF has deployed three more flights to various locations in Ukraine's neighbourhood.

Among the military planes, the C-17 Globemaster has been chosen as the aircraft carry out the sortie at one go. Prior to this, the C-17s heavy-lift transport aircraft were extensively used for the evacuation of stranded citizens notably from Afghanistan. These planes were also utilised to transport oxygen containers in large quantities during the second wave of Covid-19 last year.

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