The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has changed the flight path from Ahmedabad to Gulf which will avoid Pakistan, instead going over the Arabian Sea. This new flight path will result in large savings for Indian carriers. Until now, carriers would fly over Pakistan in a circuitous route that used more fuel. On top of that, they had to pay Pakistan $500 per flight for using its airspace.
Approximately 40 percent of Indian airspace is restricted for civil aircraft movement and so most navigational routes are not straight. Commercial flights have to avoid the restricted areas, which causes them to lose both fuel and time. They have been asking for a Flexible Use of Airspace for a long time.
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