Eighteen Indian aircraft are stuck at airports in West Asia, Athens and Istanbul due to the closure of airspace following the US-Iran conflict, data from flight tracking website Flightradar24 shows.
While IndiGo has seven aircraft on ground, Air India Express has six planes parked at airports across West Asia. The list also includes Air India (2), Akasa Air (1), QuikJet (1) and SpiceJet (1 wet leased plane).
The following airports have the maximum number of Indian planes on the ground: Dubai (5) and Abu Dhabi (5), followed by Dubai World Central (2) and Istanbul (2). Athens, Bahrain, Doha and Sharjah airports have one aircraft parked each since Saturday due to the closure of airspace.
Sources said that over two hundred pilots and crew members of IndiGo and Air India Express are stuck in West Asia. While a Tel Aviv-bound Air India Boeing 777 returned from mid-air on Saturday, there are sixteen Air India crew members in Israel.
“We are in touch with our crew members. All of them are safe. They are in their hotels and have been advised not to venture outside,” said an Air India Express official. An IndiGo executive said that the crew have also been instructed to follow advisories issued by the local Indian embassy.
The airports in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Kuwait have come under attack from Iran as it retaliates against US and Israeli strikes. Emirates and Etihad said that they have suspended all operations to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi until Monday afternoon.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has issued a safety advisory to Indian carriers in view of ongoing conflict in West Asia. Carriers have been advised to refrain from operating in West Asian airspace.
“Any continued operations would be at the discretion of the operator based on their safety risk assessment,” DGCA said in its advisory issued on Saturday.
Published on March 1, 2026