After security concerns were raised by insurers, Air India suspended flights to Moscow

Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group, has halted its flight from Delhi to Moscow after international insurance underwriters informed the airline that its flights landing in Russia would not be covered by insurance due to the perceived threat there as a result of the war.

“Air India has sought the intervention of the Indian government in this matter so that flights to Moscow can resume as soon as possible,” sources close to Air India said on Thursday.” Air India has cancelled one return flight on the Delhi-Moscow-Delhi sector on the 7th April, 2022,” an Air India spokesperson said in an official statement. However, data from the flight tracking website Flightradar24 revealed that the airline, which operates a flight between Delhi and Moscow every Sunday and Thursday, had also cancelled the April 3 flight.

Every financial year, beginning April 1, Air India renews its insurance for its flights and aircraft. It usually buys insurance from Indian reinsurers like New India Assurance, National Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company, and United India Insurance Company, and the policies are underwritten by international companies, including some based in the United Kingdom.

Airlines purchase insurance to protect themselves from unanticipated losses in the event of a mishap or accident involving their aircraft. Every insurance policy is tailored to the needs of a specific airline and is usually provided by a group of reinsurers and underwriters.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the West imposed sanctions on the country’s aviation, resulting in the suspension of services by European and American carriers. Russia’s airlines were also denied access to international airspace. After the sanctions, Air India was one of the few airlines, along with a few Chinese carriers, that continued to fly to Russia.

In addition, while airlines from the United States and Canada stopped flying over Russian airspace, Air India continued to fly over Russia for flights between India and the United States via the North Pole route, which was shorter.”The insurance companies have only expressed concern about planes landing in Russian airspace, not about overflights through Russian airspace.” “As a result, Air India’s other flights to the United States that fly over Russia are continuing to operate normally,” a source said.

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