Russian Sanctions Force United to Suspend Two Flights to India

by Rich Thomaselli
Last updated: 11:16 AM ET, Tue March 8, 2022

There was, literally, no way around it.

United Airlines on Monday was forced to suspend two flights from the U.S. to India due to the sanctions imposed as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The U.S. and nearly 40 other countries have banned Russian airlines from flying over their airspace, and Russia did the same in retaliation.

The United flights to India normally fly over Russia, according to Reuters News Service. But without that ability, many airlines have been forced to find alternate, circuitous routes or have been forced to make a stop to refuel. The news outlet noted that more than 1,000 commercial and cargo flights a week from the U.S. fly over Russian airspace.

For United, there literally was no way around it for the flights from the U.S. to India to be salvaged, hence the indefinite halt. The two flights affected are between San Francisco and Delhi, and from Newark, N.J. to Mumbai.

United will continue to fly from its headquarters in Chicago to Delhi, Reuters said.

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