NEW DELHI: The only two Indian airlines operating flights to Kuwait -- Air India Express (AIX) and IndiGo -- announced the suspension of their services from Wednesday following the closure of Kuwaiti airspace.
An Air India Express flight from Calicut International Airport to Kuwait was forced to return midway after Kuwait announced the closure.
AIX has suspended its Kuwait operations till June 6. The airline had suspended services to Kuwait since the end of February and resumed operations only on Tuesday (June 2), with a flight from Bengaluru to Kuwait. However, it had to cancel both flights scheduled for Wednesday.
An Air India Express spokesperson said flight IX 393 from Calicut International Airport to Kuwait (CCJ-KWI) returned to Kozhikode midway on June 3 due to the airspace closure.
“Guests have been provided the option of complimentary rescheduling or a full refund on cancellation.”
A source said another flight from Kochi to Bahrain, scheduled to depart at 11.45 am, was also cancelled.
“A total of 119 were offloaded and subsequently sent back.”
IndiGo said it was suspending operations to and from Kuwait until 12 noon on June 4.
“We remain in close coordination with the relevant aviation authorities and are continuously monitoring the situation. Flight services will resume as soon as conditions permit and safe operating corridors become available," said an IndiGo spokesperson.