Due to the closure of Pakistani airports and airspace due to the conflict in South Asia, Thai Airways International (THAI) announced on Wednesday that it would begin rerouting flights with destinations to Europe and South Asia early on Wednesday morning.
THAI cautioned that some flights may experience delays as a result. Due to fighting between India and Pakistan, a number of Asian airlines announced on Wednesday that they were rerouting or canceling flights to and from Europe. In the most intense conflict between the nuclear-armed adversaries in over 20 years, India launched an attack on Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir, and Pakistan claimed to have shot down five Indian fighter jets.
For safety reasons, Taiwan’s EVA Air announced that it will modify its flights to and from Europe to avoid airspace impacted by the conflict between India and Pakistan. The airline told Reuters that a flight from Taipei to Milan will be diverted to Vienna for refueling before continuing on to its destination, and another flight from Vienna will be diverted back to that city.
Korean Air announced on Wednesday that it had started rerouting its flights from Seoul Incheon to Dubai, moving them from their previous route through Pakistani airspace to a southern route that passes over Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar. Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Wednesday, seen from the city.
Vietnam Airlines stated that its flight plans had been impacted by the tensions between India and Pakistan and that it would provide more information about the rerouting schedules at a later time. China Airlines, based in Taiwan, announced that it had “taken a series of measures to ensure the safety of its passengers and crew” and had triggered its contingency plan. It didn’t go into detail.
China Airlines’ nonstop flight to London on Wednesday was canceled, according to the website of Taiwan’s main international airport in Taoyuan, outside Taipei. Many flights from Taiwan to Europe flew over Russia prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but since Taipei joined in Western sanctions against Moscow, Taiwanese airlines are now prohibited from operating flights that typically pass over India, Pakistan, and Central Asia.
