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Qatar crisis: Now Jet Airways, Air India and IndiGo route flights to Doha via Pakistan

  • Indian carriers to Qatar will now have to fly via Pakistan.
  • With UAE imposing an embargo on Qatar, Indian carriers were forced to look for alternate routes.
  • Now flights to Doha operated by et Airways, Air India Express and IndiGo will fly via Pakistan and Iran.
Qatar crisis Jet Airways Air India IndiGo route flights to Doha via Pakistan

In the aftermath of the travel restrictions imposed on Qatar, Indian carriers have now decided to take longer routes to Doha via Pakistan and Iran.

With this development, the passengers will have to face increased travel time. All Indian carriers such as Jet Airways, Air India Express and IndiGo have said that they will be operating flights to Doha through Pakistan and Iran airspace following restrictions imposed by the UAE, a PTI report said.

This means that air travellers to Doha will not only have to bear with longer flight hours but will also have to shell out more on the plane tickets. 

The diplomatic rift in the Persian Gulf area has wrecked havoc for airline passengers. Major Middle Eastern airlines companies of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have all suspended their flights to Qatar.

Lakhs of Indians call Qatar home, and this recent development has severely affected the travel plans of many. The Saudi and its allies said that they took the decision as Doha has been supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and Al-Qaeda, besides funding the Shia rebels in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

As per official data, little over 28 lakh passengers flew to and from Indian cities and Doha in 2016.Air India Express CEO K Shyam Sundar said its flights to Doha have started taking the alternative route following restrictions in the UAE airspace. 

"The duration of our flights to Doha will increase by an hour and a half or so in either direction. We will have to avoid the UAE airspace and fly over Pakistan and Iran instead," Sundar told PTI. 

An Air India Express flight takes nearly three hours and 30 minutes to complete Mumbai-Doha flight while the duration is around four hours for the flight between Kozhikode and Doha. 

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