- Indian airlines suspend or reduce Gulf flights after UAE restrictions.
- Air India and Air India Express cancel most Dubai routes.
- IndiGo suspends all Dubai flights citing regional airspace restrictions.
- Disruptions affect major India-Gulf travel corridor used by millions.
Indian airlines Air India, Air India express and indiGo suspended or drastically reduced their flights to Gulf on Sunday following UAE airport authorities flight bans that were affiliated to the growing conflict amid the US-Israel partnership against Iran.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi bore the brunt of the bad news since most of the scheduled flights to the destinations in the two cities either got cancelled or narrowed to skeleton flights.
This is caused by the recent Iranian drone and missile attacks that have targeted targets throughout the Gulf, compelling location authorities in the UAE to put operation restriction principles surrounding international traffic.
The limitations contribute to an already worsening aviation situation in the Middle East where the Bahrain and airports in portions of Saudi Arabia have already been already shut down.
Air India Group: Majority of Flights in Dubai cancelled
The Air India group replied that it was operating on the most recent orders given by the airport officials of the UAE that validated a drastically decreased program on March 15.
The group explained the exact blow: The Air India would only make one trip of Delhi-Dubai roundway flights, four out of five of the planned flights in Dubai would be made. Air India Express would operate one flight per day flight in the return route, Delhi-Dubai, and five of the six flights between Dubai and the airline would be cancelled. All the Air India Express flights to Abu Dhabi were cancelled completely.
Air India Express still indicated that it would resume select operations in Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, and Ras Al Khaimah-Kozhikode and Ras Al Khaimah-Kochi on slot availability as well as prevailing circumstances at the time of operation.
IndiGo Suspends its Dubai flights
India low-cost carrier, IndiGo, individually confirmed the cancellation of all flights in and out of Dubai because of persistent airspace restrictions and advised passengers to confirm their flight status before reporting to the airport.
IndiGo further stated that it is still in close liaison with the concerned authorities to gradually restore its flight operations within the region and some parts of the European routes that have been hit by airspace closures due to the conflict.
Impact on Indian Diaspora
Of the 8.9 million Indian nationals who live in the Gulf region, Dubai-India corridor is considered to be one of the world busiest international air routes in terms of passengers.
Thousands of travellers, including workers wishing to get home and families wishing to come together in the face of the worsened security situation are likely to be impacted by Sunday cancellations.
India government has already issued warnings to the Gulf citizens asking them to be cautious and to keep in touch with the Indian missions in the region.
