KOCHI: Escalating tensions halfway across the world rippled into Kerala on Saturday, with several Gulf-bound and incoming flights cancelled following sudden airspace closures across West Asian nations.
At Kochi airport, 18 Gulf-bound and seven incoming flights were cancelled.
These included three outbound and one incoming flight of Etihad Airways, two outbound flights of Emirates, four outbound flights of Air
India Express, five Gulf-bound and one incoming flight of IndiGo, and several services of Air India, Air Arabia, Spicejet, Akasa Air and Jazeera Airways.
The airport operator, CIAL, has urged passengers “to verify flight status with their respective airlines before proceeding to the airport.”
At Kozhikode airport, all services to Gulf countries remained suspended from noon, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. These included three IndiGo flights and four Air India Express services.
Services connecting Qatar were also suspended, as were the Gulf services operated from Karipur by Salalah Air.
Elsewhere in Kannur, four flights were cancelled. Among the affected services were IndiGo outbound flights to Doha and Fujairah. In addition, inbound flights from Abu Dhabi (IndiGo) and Dubai (Air India Express) were also called off.
Disruptions are likely to continue on Sunday as well, with IndiGo services from Fujairah and Abu Dhabi among the ones suspended.
At Thiruvananthapuram airport, eight flights were cancelled. These included three Air India Express flights and one incoming service of Etihad Airways.
Several services remain cancelled on Sunday as well, including Air India Express’ incoming services from Doha and Dubai, and one Thiruvananthapuram-bound service of Emirates and Etihad Airways.
“The air network has been shut down in all of the Middle East, and hence, all flights stand cancelled. Nothing more can be said before any major intervention or official communication from there,” a top airport official said.
Service disruptions
The largest operator from India to the Gulf region, Air India Express, with an average of 110 flights daily, said cancellations are likely to continue on Sunday. “The airline is adopting a wait-and-watch approach as of now,” an official said.
For change and cancellation waivers on impacted Air India Express flights, guests may visit the ‘Manage Booking’ section on our website or chat with Tia on WhatsApp at +91 6360012345.
Meanwhile, an Air India official said, “It is a dynamic, evolving situation. We cannot say anything about Sunday operations as of now.” This airline too has urged affected passengers to contact their 24x7 helpline number: +91 1169329333 or +91 1169329999.
Indigo maintained that “the safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority,” and added that their team is continuously monitoring the situation and calibrating the operations “to minimise disruption as much as possible.”
SpiceJet, which operates flights from several airports in Kerala, has also cancelled its flights.
Nine Gulf-bound flights and 10 incoming flights remain cancelled on Sunday at Kochi airport. All Gulf-bound flights from Kannur and Calicut airports have also been cancelled.