Israel-Iran conflict: Air India halts all flights to Middle East; Europe and US east coast also affected

NEW DELHI: The closure of UAE and Qatar airspace late Monday night as missiles were fired from Iran towards US bases in Qatar and Iraq threw commercial air traffic completely out of gear. Hundreds of lights to and from the region — that houses mega hubs like Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi along with multiple smaller ones like Sharjah — were impacted.

Flights headed there from across the world, including multiple Indian cities, were diverted, returned to origin or were put on hold. Flights headed from Lucknow to Dammam; Mumbai to Kuwait and Amritsar to Dubai were among those that turned back to the origin from over the Arabian Sea. And aircraft supposed to take off from there, remained on the ground.

Early on Tuesday morning, Air India said it has ceased “all operations to Middle East as well as to and from the East Coast of North America and Europe with immediate effect, until further notice. Our India-bound flights from North America are diverting back to their respective origins and others are being diverted back to India or re-routed away from the closed airspaces.” AI says this due to “the developing situation in the Middle East.”

“We request the understanding of all passengers who may be affected by this disruption that’s beyond an airline’s control. Air India is in continuous consultation with its external security advisors and is vigilantly monitoring the evolving situation. We will keep our passengers informed of any updates. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our number one priority,” said an Air India spokesperson.

The India market is served by biggies including Emirates Group, IndiGo, Air India Group, Qatar Airways, Etihad and multiple smaller airlines like Akasa, SpiceJet and Air Arabia. Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi are key transit points for travel between India and rest of the world. Dozens of flights to and from India alone were impacted on Monday night itself.

In a statement, IndiGo said: “In view of the evolving situation in the Middle East, some of our flights may experience delays or diversions. These adjustments are being made to ensure operations remain within safe and compliant airspace. We recommend checking your flight status regularly. If your flight is impacted, alternate options can be easily explored through our website. We continue to monitor the situation closely in coordination with the relevant authorities. We appreciate your patience and understanding.”

An AI Express spokesperson said: “As a result of the ongoing situation in the Middle East and suspension of Qatar airspace, Air India Express has diverted our Doha bound flight from Kochi to Muscat and returned our flight bound from Kannur. Air India Express has no aircraft on the ground in Qatar. We are monitoring the situation closely and will take all necessary precautions for the safety and security of our guests and crew, with inputs from the relevant authorities… regret inconvenience.”

The airspace closure in the region started around 9 pm (IST) when Qatar closed its airspace for commercial airliners “to ensure safety of citizens, residents, and visitors.” As a result, a large number of flights headed to Doha — including many from Indian cities — were impacted. The enroute ones diverted to other nearby places like Abu Dhabi or Bahrain; some returned to their origin cities in India; boarding for those about to depart was put on hold and others were suspended till the airspace restrictions remain in force.

The point-to-point trafic between India and Doha is rather low, with the majority being one-stop transit flyers. IndiGo, the biggest Indian operator to Doha, saw the maximum impact. Its enroute flights to Doha from Delhi and Hyderabad were diverted to Bahrain and one from Kochi went to Abu Dhabi. Comments were sought from Qatar Airways and awaited till the time of going to press.

Air India’s three flights were immediately impacted: one was diverted to Abu Dhabi, other returned to India and the third was put on hold. AI Express put boarding of its Doha-bound flights on hold at Indiana airports. AI Express has flights between Doha and six Indian cities — Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchchirappalli. Multiple flights headed from the west to Doha diverted to nearby cities including Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Within an hour, the UAE airspace was also closed. That threw flights completely ot of gear. “At this point, there’s utter chaos and we can’t even guestimate the impact,” said senior official of multiple airlines.

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