- Air India group plans 80 flights to West Asia Saturday
- Services include scheduled flights to Jeddah and Muscat
- Additional 62 non-scheduled flights planned to UAE and Saudi Arabia
- IndiGo introduces fuel surcharge amid rise in jet fuel prices
Air India group of India announced it will fly approximately 80 flights to and West Asia on Saturday despite tensions in the region in relation to the war between Iran stating that it will run scheduled services and also organize non-scheduled flights to serve passengers.
Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express will operate an all-mix schedule and chartered flights on main Gulf destinations March 14. The airline group mentioned that it includes flights between Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates to Indian cities as the carriers seek to maintain travel connections at a time when geopolitical uncertainty is higher.
"These flights are being operated with the requisite permissions from the relevant Indian and local regulatory authorities," Air India said in a statement regarding the additional services.
The airlines affirmed that they will maintain the regular flights to Jeddah and Muscat and they will have a total of 18 services on Saturday. Air India will serve 10 flights in and out of Jeddah, and Air India Express will serve eight scheduled flights between Muscat and some cities in India.
Besides the planned routes, Air India will have one round trip flight between New Delhi and two round trip flights between New Delhi and Mumbai to Jeddah. Air India Express will also operate flights between Kozhikode and Mangaluru with the Saudi city and vice versa. Here's the full schedule on March 14, 2026 released by Air India:
The airlines claimed that the operations are aligned with aviation regulators in India and the destination nations in order to provide safety and adherence to the international aviation requirements.
Additional Flights to serve Travel Demand
In addition to the regular booking services, Air India group will also carry out 62 non-scheduled flights between India and the United Arab Emirates/Saudi Arabia, provided that there are operational clearances and airport slots.
The airline operates these flights with the necessary concessions of the concerned Indian and local regulations, it stated.
The extra flights are aimed at keeping passengers connected and carrying the affected travelers due to the disruption of the airspace in the region due to the increase of tensions between Iran, the United States, and Israel.
Air India also expressed that it is considering options of adding more ad-hoc flights as long as the demand keeps growing or as long as it can operate within the operational environment. Gulf region continues to be one of the busiest international airlines routes to Indian airlines with millions of migrant workers, tourists and business travelers visiting it annually.
Air India and Air India Express confirmed that scheduled and additional services would operate to Jeddah and Muscat, while extra non-scheduled flights would connect several Indian cities with destinations in the United Arab Emirates.
Air India said the flights were being operated with required regulatory permissions and operational clearances, while airlines across the region adjust schedules amid airspace disruptions linked to the Iran conflict.
"Airlines are closely monitoring airspace conditions across the Middle East and adjusting schedules as the security situation evolves," aviation officials told Reuters as carriers reassessed regional operations.
According to industry analysts, airlines serving the region are paying careful attention to the airspace regulations, safety warnings and insurance specifications as geopolitical tensions keep disrupting air travel routes in the Middle East.
Fuel Surcharges Introduced Due to Cost increases.
The geopolitical friction has also raised the prices of aviation fuel and the airlines are forced to charge a fuel-surcharge on the tickets.
IndiGo, the largest airline in India in terms of market share, announced that it will become a fuel tariff on domestic and foreign flights as of March 14. According to the airline, the surcharge will be between 425 rupees (5.1) and 2300 rupees with reference to route and travelling distance.
According to the airline, the action was needed to counter increased operating cost after an increase in aviation turbine fuel price due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Similar changes in the selling prices of tickets had previously been announced by Air India and Air India Express. The airline group has also stated that it has come up with fuel charge of 399 rupees per ticket in domestic flights and flights within the South Asian area.
In case of international travel, the surcharge is dependent upon the destination. West Asian flights will attract an extra fee of 10 dollars per ticket and those flying to Africa will have to pay a fee between 30 and 90 dollars. A service to the Southeast Asia will be charged an extra of between 20 and 60.
The global airline industry is grappling with the escalating cost of fuel with the price of crude oil reaching close to 100 barrels per barrel due to the fear of events of disruptions of the supply of the product in the Middle East region which contributes a large portion of the world oil output.
Though the costs and geopolitical tensions have risen, Indian carriers indicated that they are determined to continue their operation in the major routes in the Gulf region as they continue to observe the situation in the region and re-time flights when the need arises.
