Air India Resumes Flights To Middle East, Europe From Today; IndiGo Warns Of Longer Routes: Check Advisories
Air India on Tuesday said that it will progressively resume flights to the Middle East starting today after the airspace in certain parts of the conflict-hit region started reopening. However, the airline said that most of the operations to and from the Middle East will resume from June 25. IndiGo, too, issued an advisory informing that the flight services were now operating as per schedule.
"Flights to and from Europe, previously cancelled, are also being progressively reinstated from today, while services to and from the East Coast of the US and Canada will resume at the earliest opportunity," the Air India Spokesperson said, as reported by news agency ANI.
The development comes after the airline stopped flight operations to the Middle East, Europe, and five other destinations in the US and Canada following Iranian strikes on the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar on Monday night.
As tensions escalated after the Iranian strikes on the US base in Qatar, a few countries in the Middle East, including Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, closed their airspace. Since Air India's long-haul flights to Europe and North America overfly the Middle East, the airspace curbs disrupted its operations.
Air India also said that some flights may experience delays or cancellations due to consequential impacts and extended re-routings or flight times, but the airline has ensured it remains "committed to minimising disruptions and restoring our schedule integrity".
"Air India will continue to avoid airspaces assessed as unsafe at any given time," it asserted.
Earlier, the airline announced that it had ceased all flight operations to the Middle East as well as to and from the East Coast of North America and Europe with immediate effect, until further notice. Services to European cities as well as to four US airports, including New York, Newark, Chicago, and Washington, and to Toronto (Canada), were also hit.
IndiGo Issues Advisory, Warns Of Longer Routes
Apart from Air India, IndiGo's arrivals and departures from Dubai, Doha, Bahrain, Dammam, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Ras AI-Khaimah, and Tbilisi in the Middle East were also impacted. A total of eight arrival and seven departure were cancelled by the airline after tensions soared in the region.
However, the airline on Tuesday issued an advisory confirming that the flight operations to and from the Gulf nations had stabilised and were now operating as per schedule.
The airline further warned passengers of possible delays on some international routes due to airspace restrictions over Iran.
In a post on X, IndiGo wrote, "The flight operations into, out of, and through the Gulf countries have stabilised and are operating as scheduled."
Passengers have been advised to check their flight status and stay alert in case of any last-minute changes or delays.
"We recommend keeping a close watch on your flight status for the latest updates. Rest assured, we are here to assist you and ensure smooth facilitation throughout your journey," it added.
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