New Delhi, March 12 -- Air India has approached the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), seeking a temporary relaxation in pilot duty norms to operate certain long-haul flights after being forced to take longer routes due to the closure of airspace over West Asia.

Flights to North America, including Toronto, are operating with increased flight times and making a fuel stop in Rome due to the unavailability of these airspaces.

To be sure, Indian airlines or any aircraft registered in India have not been allowed to use Pakistan airspace since April last year following the Pahalgam attack. This means that long-haul and ultra-long-haul Indian flights are going further south to avoid the restricted airspaces....