4 min readNew DelhiMar 3, 2026 11:40 PM IST
Flight operations by Indian airlines to and from West Asian airports are slowly being resumed, primarily through special flights to facilitate travel for stranded passengers. A staggered resumption of some scheduled flights is also underway, mainly to Oman and Saudi Arabia as their airspaces are largely open for civilian air traffic, unlike some other countries in the region.
Flight operations to and from most West Asian airports have been heavily disrupted since Saturday due to the raging conflict in the region, leaving thousands of passengers stranded in the region as well as other parts of the world. Flying in conflict zones is a major risk to civil aviation safety and most airlines proactively avoid transiting such regions even when their airspaces are open.
Till date, 1,221 flights by Indian carriers and 388 flights by foreign carriers (from West Asia to India) have been cancelled due to the ongoing conflict, the government said late Tuesday.
According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), a total of 24 flights–mostly non-scheduled special operations–were operated by Indian carriers on Tuesday to facilitate movement of stranded passengers between India and West Asian countries Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman. Air India Express also operated a few of its scheduled flights to Muscat, while IndiGo will start resumption of some of its operations to Muscat, Jeddah, and Madinah from Wednesday.
MoCA said that Indian carriers plan to operate 58 flights on Thursday, including 30 by IndiGo and 23 by Air India and Air India Express. These are likely to include a mix of special repatriation flights and a few scheduled services. SpiceJet is also operating special flights from Fujairah, while Akasa Air is operating a few flights from Jeddah. Air India said that it will operate three flights using wide-body aircraft–that can carry 250-350 passengers–from Dubai and Jeddah on Thursday in a bid to bring back more stranded passenger than what regular narrow-body jets can carry. Meanwhile, the airline’s scheduled operations in West Asia remain suspended.
Indian carriers have undertaken calibrated adjustments to their schedules, with long-haul and ultra long-haul operations being progressively resumed through alternative routings that avoid restricted airspace. Air India has already resumed all its operations to Europe and North America using longer routes, while IndiGo plans to resume its services to Athens from Wednesday. IndiGo flies to a few other destinations in Europe and the UK, but operations to those currently remain suspended. West Asian airspace is a major corridor for flights connecting Asian with Europe and beyond.
“Special arrangements are being made to facilitate the movement of stranded passengers, with airlines deploying additional capacity where required and coordinating closely with foreign aviation authorities and Indian missions abroad to ensure safe and orderly passenger movement,” MoCA said, adding that in addition to Indian airlines, Emirates and Etihad have operated nine special flights to India between Monday evening and Tuesday night.
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“Foreign carriers operating between India and the Gulf region are also undertaking limited operations, subject to operational and airspace considerations,” MoCA said.
MoCA also said that remains in continuous touch with airlines and is closely monitoring airfares to ensure that there is no undue surge in ticket prices during this period.
“The Ministry remains in continuous coordination with airlines, airport operators, regulatory authorities, and the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure safe operations, orderly restoration of services, and facilitation of affected passengers,” it added.
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