Air India has canceled flights to five destinations in Europe and America and Canada amid growing tension in the Middle East. In addition, flights of Air India Express and IndiGo for the Middle East have also been affected and some of them have been changed.
After Iran carried out a missile attack on the American airbase in Qatar, tension in the area has increased and some countries, including Qatar, have shut down their airspace. Air India’s long -range flights to Europe and North America pass through the Middle East and its services have been disrupted due to a ban on airspace.
Amid the situation developing in the Middle East, Air India said it had closed all operations from the region as well as the eastern coast of North America and Europe to further orders with immediate effect. Services for European cities as well as four American airports – New York, Newark, Chicago and Washington – and Toronto (Canada) have been temporarily stopped.
The airline said in a statement, “Our flights coming from North America to India are being diverted to their respective original places, and others are being turned back to India or sent away from closed air areas.”
The airline said that it is constantly consulting with its external security advisors and is cautious on the emerging situation. The airline said, “We request all the passengers to show understanding that may be affected by this disruption that is beyond the control of the airline.”
The Air India Express has diverted two of its flights to Doha due to the closure of Qatar airspace.
The airline said in a statement, “As a result of the ongoing situation in the Middle East and the suspension of Qatar airspace, Air India Express has diverted its flight from Kochi to Doha towards Muscat and returned its flight coming from Kannur.”
Indigo flights also affected
IndiGo said in a post on X that in view of recent developments in the Middle East, the arrival and departure of flights from Dubai, Doha, Bahrain, Dammam, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Raas al-Khemah and Tabilisi has been affected.
The airline also stated that it is actively monitoring the situation and adjusting the operation to ensure the highest level of security. SpiceJet said in a post on X that all departure and arrival and their resulting flights could be affected due to the closure of the airspace in Dubai.
Air India Express operates 25 weekly flights to Doha, the capital of Qatar. It has direct services from Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchirappalli to Doha. In addition, there are eight one -stop destinations from Doha near the airline – Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.
