Ukraine-Russia war: Flights to India from Europe to take longer than usual

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The ongoing Ukrainian crisis is having a deep impact on the aviation industry. As per recent reports, the flights from India to Europe will take longer than usual. This longer duration comes as a result of the ban of usage of Ukrainian airspace and the Russian government’s ban on any British flights in its airspace.

Virgin Atlantic's Delhi-London flights will have a slightly longer flying time by 15-60 minutes as the Russian government has banned all British planes from crossing its airspace.

In response to the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, the Boris Johnson government announced that Russian national carrier Aeroflot would not be allowed to land in the UK earlier this week.

Consequently, the Russian government on Friday announced that British planes would not be allowed to land in Russia or use Russian airspace.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said on Friday: "On Thursday evening, we took the decision to start avoiding Russian airspace, and our flight paths will continue to be adjusted for some Virgin Atlantic passenger services between the UK and India."

The spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience caused to customers by slightly longer flight times.

"Four Virgin Atlantic services typically overfly Russia - flights between London Heathrow and Islamabad, Lahore, Delhi and services between Manchester and Islamabad", the spokesperson said.

"Avoiding Russian airspace will result in slightly longer flight times by 15-60 minutes, depending on the route," the spokesperson added.

"As ever, our airport, cabin crew and customer teams will support customers with any connecting flights", the spokesperson mentioned.

"The safety and security of our customers and people always come first, and we're monitoring the situation in Ukraine and Russia extremely carefully following the escalation of conflict, continuing to operate in full compliance with relevant safety regulators, authorities and governments," the spokesperson noted. 

With inputs from PTI