New Delhi, Sept. 29 -- India is exploring a new air corridor through China's Xinjiang region to shorten flights to Europe, the UK and North America as Pakistan's continued closure of its airspace forces Indian carriers to take costly detours, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Tuesday. The proposed route, being discussed between Indian and Chinese officials for more than a year, would pass near Hotan in southwestern Xinjiang, but no agreement or timeline for opening the corridor has been reached.
Indian airlines have been barred from using Pakistani airspace since April 2025, after the Pahalgam terror attack. Carriers operating westbound flights from Delhi, Mumbai and other parts of northern and western India have since diverted routes over the Arabian Sea towards Muscat. The diversion has added up to two hours of flying time on some sectors, increasing fuel consumption, crew costs and other operational expenses.
"We are looking at other alternatives. Discussion on the Hotan route is going on between the two countries. Our external affairs ministry (MEA) is engaging with their country... let us see how it goes, but we are trying alternatives," Naidu told reporters.
If approved, flights from Delhi and Mumbai could travel towards Leh, enter Chinese airspace near Hotan, continue towards Kyrgyzstan and then join existing routes to western destinations. A person familiar with the matter said Indian carriers were currently using the L639 route to avoid Pakistan, adding about two hours to some flights. Another person said a Hotan route could reduce costs on services to Georgia, Baku, Central Asia and northern Europe.
The prolonged restrictions have weighed particularly heavily on Air India's long-haul operations. Former Air India CEO Campbell Wilson estimated in 2025 that the airline could lose about Rs 4,000 crore because of the closure, while the carrier had separately estimated a potential 12-month impact of around $600 million.
The discussions come as India-China air connectivity gradually resumes. China Southern Airlines restarted Guangzhou-New Delhi flights this month, while IndiGo and Air India have also restored direct services to China.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday that India-China ties were in a better position than in 2025, describing the change as a recovery from a relationship that had gone "so much off-track".
In a separate incident, Pakistan has blocked its airspace to a Russian flight carrying nuclear fuel for Bangladesh's Rooppur nuclear power plant.
At a time when Bangladesh has sought to rebuild ties with Pakistan, it has faced a reality check. The first batch of nuclear fuel for Unit-2 of Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant was scheduled to arrive on September 24.
The timing is significant as Bangladesh is looking to begin commercial operations at its first nuclear power plant at the earliest, as it faces its worst energy crises in decades. Against this backdrop, Pakistan's denial of airspace clearance is likely to delay the delivery of nuclear fuel and, potentially, affect the plant's operational timeline.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.