Major airlines were cancelling and rerouting flights to Pakistan and India Wednesday amid rising tensions between the two countries.
The airlines, including Emirates, Air Canada and Qatar Airways, suspended flights after Pakistan closed its airspace. Flight trackers showed that some even had to turn back mid-route.
Later on Wednesday, airlines began restarting their services, but on alternate routes.
Air Canada explained in an email to Global News that all flights to India were temporarily cancelled after one en route to Delhi was forced to turn back to Toronto.
The airline said its Toronto to Mumbai flight will operate on time Wednesday night, but on a different route.
Due to a lack of suitable alternative routes to Delhi, Air Canada said it has cancelled its Wednesday night flights from Toronto and Vancouver.
“We continue to monitor this situation closely and flights to Delhi will operate as soon as operationally feasible,” the airline said in an emailed statement.
Air Canada has enacted its goodwill policy for customers affected by cancellations.
The airline operates a daily service from Toronto and Vancouver to Delhi, and has a four-times-weekly flight from Toronto to Mumbai. It does not fly to Pakistan.
Other airlines affected
Pakistan International Airlines posted on Twitter Wednesday that travellers should “expect delays.”
Air India also tweeted that it is planning to reroute some of its flights to try and minimize delays.
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