Overview
- IndiGo disclosed more than 500 cancellations to the Middle East and select international destinations between February 28 and March 3 due to evolving airspace restrictions over Iran and the region.
- The Civil Aviation Ministry said 1,221 flights by Indian carriers and 388 by foreign carriers were canceled through March 3 as regional curbs disrupted operations.
- IndiGo said it is recalibrating schedules and coordinating repatriation operations, and has begun flights to Athens, Muscat, Jeddah, and Madinah along with select UAE repatriation services.
- HSBC estimates capacity hits of roughly 19–20% for IndiGo, 30–32% for SpiceJet, more than 40% for Air India, and 13–14% for Akasa, with limited scope for rapid redeployment and higher vulnerability at SpiceJet due to wet-leased aircraft.
- Market reaction was swift, with IndiGo and SpiceJet shares falling up to about 8%, as HSBC projected daily revenue losses for IndiGo of ₹450–500 million and flagged fuel-cost sensitivity of roughly ₹300 crore per $1 per barrel for IndiGo and ₹27.5 crore for SpiceJet.