New Delhi: Provided Islamabad reciprocates, India's airlines stand to make huge savings following New Delhi's decision to lift a ban on overflights from Pakistan, airline officials said on June 11.

"We hope (Islamabad) will lift the ban by today. If we get it, the duration of all our west-bound flights will be reduced," Air India spokeswoman Rohita Jaidka told reporters.

"We had to go South of Pakistan which was adding 45 minutes to an hour to our flying time," she added. "This was naturally having financial implications."

Airline sources said the ban, imposed in December following an attack on India's Parliament, New Delhi blamed on Pakistani-based militants, had caused Air India a loss of about Rs 20 million ($ 5 million) in the first three months of this year alone.

Jaidka said that apart from West-bound flights to the United States and Europe, the ban had added 15 to 20 minutes to flights to the Gulf. Air India flies 11 West-bound and 80 Gulf-bound flights every week.

India lifted the overflight ban on Pakistani aircraft with immediate effect from June 10 after acknowledging a reduction in infiltration of Islamic militants into disputed Kashmir, the issue at the core of the India-Pakistan crisis.

The ban was imposed after the suicide attack on the Indian Parliament, after which relations between the bitter nuclear-armed rivals reached a dangerous low.

Pakistan had quickly responded with a similar ban on Indian flights.

Aviation sources said India's other main carrier, Indian Airlines, would also gain immensely because it has a large international network in addition to its vast domestic operations.

"Our flights have been taking half an hour to 40 minutes longer to Gulf countries since the ban was imposed by Pakistan," said an Indian Airline official.

He said Indian Airline's Gulf-bound flights make up 60 per cent of its overseas operations and therefore the decision would have significant impact.

The ban cost the airline Rs 40 million to Rs 50 million ($ 10 million to $ 12 million) just in the first three months of this year.

Despite the lifting of the ban on over-flights, there was no specific announcement by India on whether Pakistani flights can land in the country.

Immediately after the ban was imposed, Pakistan International Airlines had to stop its six flights a week to India.

While Air India had no flights to Pakistan even before the ban, Indian Airlines had two flights to Pakistan weekly, which they suspended in October following the launch of the US military campaign in Afghanistan.

A spokesman for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said in Islamabad that India stood to gain far more than Pakistan from lifting the ban.

"The loss was to India and not to us. Against Pakistan's 12 to 14 flights (a week) were disrupted, around 144 west-bound Indian flights were disrupted," the spokesman said.

Indian aviation officials contested the statement of the PIA official and said the ban was costing Pakistan more heavily as its east-bound flights needed to take a long detour around the South of India.

They said the decision by the Indian government could save PIA extensive time on flights to Bangladesh, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and Japan.