• Pakistani airspace closure costing Air India profit $455m annually.
• Passengers shifting to foreign carriers due to shorter flight time.
• India reviewing plea to diplomatically ask China for alternate route.

NEW DELHI/HONG KONG: Air India is lobbying the Indian government to convince China to let it use a sensitive military airspace zone in Xinjiang to shorten routes as the financial toll from a ban on Indian carriers flying over Pakistan mounts, a company document shows.

The unusual request comes just weeks after direct India-China flights resumed after a five-year hiatus following a Himalayan border clash between the nations.

Air India has been seeking to rebuild its reputation and international network after a London-bound Boeing Dreamliner crashed in Gujarat in June, killing 260 people and forcing it to briefly cut flights for safety checks.

But that effort is being complicated by the closure of Pakistan’s airspace to Indian carriers since their diplomatic tensions erupted in late April.

For Air India, the country’s only carrier with a major international network, fuel costs have risen by as much as 29% and journey times by up to three hours on some long-haul routes, according to the previously unreported document submitted to Indian officials in late October and reviewed by Reuters.

The Indian government is reviewing Air India’s plea to diplomatically ask China to allow an alternative routing and emergency access to airports in case of diversions at Hotan, Kashgar and Urumqi in Xinjiang, aiming to reach US, Canada and Europe faster, the document said.

“Air India’s long-haul network is under severe operational and financial strain […] Securing Hotan route will be a strategic option,” it added.

The airline, owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines estimated the Pakistan airspace closure’s impact on its profit before tax at $455 million annually — a significant amount given its fiscal 2024-25 loss stood at $439 million.

The Chinese foreign ministry said it was not aware of the situation and referred Reuters to the “relevant authorities”.

Air India and civil aviation authorities in India, China and Pakistan did not respond to Reuters‘ queries.

‘Nonviable routes’

The Chinese airspace Air India is seeking to access is ringed by some of the world’s highest mountains of 20,000 ft (6,100 m) or more, and is avoided by international airlines due to potential safety risks in case of a decompression incident.

More critically, it also falls within People’s Liberation Army’s Western Theatre Command, which is equipped with extensive missile, drone and air-defence assets and shares some airports with civilian aircraft, military analysts say.

The Pentagon’s December report on China’s military said the command’s responsibilities include responding to any conflict with India.

China’s military has much greater control of the country’s airspace than in most other aviation markets, restricting flight paths. Open-source intelligence tracker Damien Symon said China’s military has recently expanded an airbase at Hotan.

China’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Data from AirNav Radar shows no non-Chinese airlines departed or arrived at Hotan airport in the last 12 months.

Shukor Yusof, founder of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics, said: “Air India can try, but it’s doubtful China will accede” to access given the region’s terrain, lack of emergency airports and possibility of security issues.

Airspace globally has been constricted due to proliferating conflict zones.

US carriers have been banned from flying over Russia since the Ukraine war began in 2022 and pulled out of many US-India routes. That gave Air India a near-monopoly on non-stop flights from India.

But after the Pakistan airspace closure, Air India’s Delhi-Washington route was suspended in August. Now other routes are under review, with the direct Mumbai- and Bengaluru to San Francisco routes “becoming unviable” due to an additional three hours of travel time, including a technical stop in Kolkata, the document said.

A flight from San Francisco to Mumbai on Lufthansa via Munich is now only five minutes longer than on Air India.

“Passengers [are] shifting to foreign carriers due to shorter flight time as they have the benefit of Pakistan overflight,” the document said.

Air India estimates the requested Hotan route in China could substantially cut extra fuel requirements and flight times, help restore passenger and cargo capacity it trimmed by as much as 15% on routes like New York- and Vancouver-Delhi, and reduce losses by an estimated $1.13 million per week.

Deepening financial issues

With no signs of airspace ban easing, Air India also wants “temporary subsidy till Pakistan airspace opens”, the document said.

Air India, which has placed $70 billion of aircraft orders, is seeking help resolving legacy tax issues.

India’s government indemnified the airline against claims payable before selling it to Tata in 2022, but several notices have been received related to old tax liabilities of $725 million, raising legal and reputation risks, the document said.

A confidential government notice from March, seen by Reuters, showed tax authorities warned of “coercive steps” — which can include freezing of assets — to recover dues of $58 million in one case.

Contesting such tax demands has led to “additional cashflow burden […] despite assurances during disinvestment”, the airline said.

WASHINGTON: Billionaire Elon Musk and Portuguese soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo were among the guests at a lavish White House dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump for the visiting Saudi crown prince on Tuesday.

Ronaldo plays for Saudi club Al Nassr, one of a number of ageing players who have been attracted to the desert kingdom’s heavy spending on stars despite its rights record.

The 40-year-old, whose contract with the Saudi club ends this summer, took his place near the head of Trump’s table a few seconds before the president and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman entered.

“You know, my son is a big fan of Ronaldo,” Trump said in his pre-dinner speech, adding that his soccer-mad son Barron, 19, got to meet the legendary player.

“I think he respects his father a little bit more now, just the fact that I introduced you.”

Ronaldo was not the only soccer-related dinner guest, as FIFA chief Gianni Infantino made yet another appearance at the White House ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting.

Ronaldo says next year’s World Cup — for which Portugal booked their place on Sunday — will “definitely” be his last.

Also at the black-tie dinner was Space X and Tesla tycoon Musk, in a sign that the rift between the president and the world’s richest man has healed after their fiery public divorce.

South African-born Musk spent five months as head of the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) and accompanied Trump on a trip to Saudi Arabia in May.

But the relationship collapsed in July after Musk criticised Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful” spending bill and then said that the president was in investigatory files relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump responded by threatening Musk with deportation.

Musk, wearing a tuxedo, was seen chatting to fellow guests at a candlelit table — although a different one from Trump’s.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressed pride in having halted eight wars worldwide, claiming that he also stopped a conflict from “restarting” between nuclear-armed neighbours, Pakistan and India.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is visiting the US for the first time in seven years, at the Oval Office, Trump said: “I’ve stopped eight wars… I’ve actually stopped eight wars.”

Trump added that his administration had achieved a lot during his tenure, stating: “We stopped India and Pakistan. I could go through the list… I’m very proud. I stopped one that was almost ready to start again.”

He was likely referring to the May 2025 escalation between India and Pakistan, during which the US engaged diplomatically to help secure a ceasefire.

Responding to questions, Trump said both Pakistan and India are now “doing well.”

Turning to Russia, he remarked: “I’m a little surprised at Putin. It’s taken longer than I thought.”

Earlier this year, Pakistan and India were involved in their worst military confrontation in decades, triggered by a terrorist attack on tourists in IIOJK’s Pahalgam area, which India alleged was backed by Pakistan.

Islamabad denied any involvement and offered to participate in a neutral investigation into the incident, which killed 26 people.

During the clashes, Pakistan reportedly downed seven Indian fighter jets, including three Rafales, and dozens of drones.

After around 87 hours of hostilities, the conflict ended on May 10 with a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.

The US president, during a White House media briefing last month, had said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif credited him with preventing a catastrophic nuclear war with India that could have killed millions.

Trump asserted he had halted eight wars, including recent Gaza breakthroughs, and is pushing to end the Ukraine conflict.

Addressing reporters, Trump had recounted a meeting with Sharif. “The prime minister said to me, ‘Mr. President, you saved millions of lives. You stopped that India war from going nuclear,’” Trump added.

Trump also highlighted his broader diplomatic record. “Eight wars stopped in nine months—India-Pakistan, Israel-Iran, Rwanda-Congo, Ethiopia-Egypt, Armenia-Azerbaijan, and now Gaza. I’m working on Ukraine next,” he had said, touting his mediation of a Gaza deal that saw 20 Israeli hostages freed and 2,000 Palestinian detainees swapped.