Indian carriers to fly polar route to US, Canada

New Delhi, (IANS) Indian carriers Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines will now fly to the US and Canada taking the polar route, an official said Monday.

The polar route refers to an aircraft route across the uninhabited polar ice cap region. Its operations are entirely north of Alaska and over Siberia.

The airlines used to take the London and Frankfurt route but had to suspend their flights for four consecutive days after plumes of volcanic ash  from Iceland drifted over western and northern Europe since Thursday.

"Currently our flights cannot operate to north European destinations following volcanic ash spreading over Europe," an Air India official said.

The airline will operate its flights from Delhi to New York and New York to Delhi, and also Mumbai-New York and New York-Mumbai flights through the polar route (via Helsinki).

Private carrier Jet Airways has started its Delhi-Toronto and Mumbai-New York flights with a stopover at Athens (Greece).