NEW DELHI: Airlines from India have announced the cancellation of all their flights to the Middle East on Saturday after air strikes across the region. An Air India flight from Delhi, which was en route to Tel Aviv when Israel announced the closure of its airspace on Saturday afternoon, was forced to return to India.
An Air India spokesperson said, “AI 139 operating from Delhi to Tel Aviv on February 28 is returning to India due to closure of air space in Israel and in the interest of safety of passengers and crew.”
The largest operator from India to the Gulf region, Air India Express, with an average of 110 flights daily, cancelled all its operations. IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet too have cancelled all their operations. The cancellations are likely to continue on Sunday too though airlines are adopting a watch-and-wait approach as of now.
Following the air space closure in Abu Dhabi and reports of explosions in Dubai, Air India Express, which operates 55 flights in each direction, cancelled all their flights.
A source said, “We have suspended all our flights to the Middle East. We operate flights from major Indian cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Tircuhirappalli, Kochi, Kannur, Thiruvanananthapuram, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Kozhikode and Varanasi to key cities in the Gulf. We operate to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat, Damam, Riyadh, Jeddah, Salalah, Al-Ayin and Doha.” Asked about its stand on Sunday, the source said, “The suspension of operations is for 24 hours as of now. We will see how the situation evolves and take a call later.”
In an official statement, Air India Express said, “In view of the developing situation in parts of the Gulf Region, Air India Express has suspended all westbound international flights. The safety and security of our guests and crew remain our highest priority. We continue to closely monitor the evolving situation and will proactively review and adjust our operations as necessary.
“Our teams are extending all possible support and assistance to impacted guests,” it added. For change and cancellation waivers on impacted flights, guests may visit the ‘Manage Booking’ section on our website or Chat with Tia on WhatsApp at +91 6360012345.
Air India suspended all its flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Doha, Jeddah and Riyadh, apart from its flight from Mumbai to Damman and Delhi to Tel Aviv, said a source. “It is a dynamic, evolving situation. We cannot say anything about Sunday operations as of now,” he added.
In a statement, the airline said, “In view of the developing situation in parts of the Middle East, all Air India flights to all destinations in the Middle East have been suspended. We remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of safety for our passengers and crew. We will continue to assess the safety and security environment for our flight operations and adjust operations proactively as required. We recommend that you check your flight status on the air india website. Also connect with our 24×7 Call Centre at +91 1169329333, +91 1169329999."
IndiGo said in a statement, “In view of evolving airspace restrictions around Iran and Middle East, all flights to and from Middle East are cancelled till midnight. These measures have been instituted as the safety and security of our customers and crew is our highest priority.” The statement added, “Our teams are continuously monitoring the evolving situation and recalibrating the operations to minimize disruption as much as possible.”
SpiceJet, which operates flights from multiple cities in India, including Delhi and Mumbai, to Dubai and from Ahmedabad to Sharjah has also cancelled all its flights, a source said.