Air India resumes nonstop flights between India and New York
The airline has reduced travel time by nearly four hours by skipping Rome stops following the availability of Iraq airspace.
Air India has resumed nonstop flights between Delhi or Mumbai and New York, including JFK and Newark (EWR), as of Wednesday, according to the Times of India.
The airline's operations team restarted these nonstop services after the risk rating for Iraq, Syria, and Jordan was reduced, allowing the airline to skip the Rome Fiumicino stop.
The journeys now take between 15 and 16 hours, compared to the almost 20 hours required when the flights included the Rome stop.
The non-availability of Iran, Iraq, and other enroute airspaces since the US-Iran war began on February 28 had previously forced the addition of fuelling stops.
Pilots operating the route stated that while a load penalty remains due to the closure of Pakistan airspace since last April, the availability of Iraq airspace has made the flights nonstop again.
Air India expects these flights to remain nonstop through November and December, though fuelling stops may return from January if strong winds and high loads occur.
