West Asia turmoil: Gujarat travel agencies report multiple flight cancellations; several passengers stuck abroad

Mahesh Nakum, Manager at Ahmedabad-based Vibrant Holidays India, which processes 40–45 international bookings per month, confirmed that recent Dubai-bound departures were cancelled following airport disruptions. “Inquiries have reduced in the last two to three days… We will understand the revenue impact after the month ends,” he said. He added that none of his clients are currently stranded.

For some agencies, the impact has been more immediate and route-specific.

“There is a lot of uncertainty regarding the plans of tourists and visitors. Many flights to North America are being rescheduled and rerouted,” said Hardik Patel, owner of Ahmedabad-based My Travel Way. He added that while long-haul routes transiting West Asia are being adjusted, flights to Southeast Asia and Pacific routes remained unchanged. Patel also said agents are largely refusing refunds at this stage, offering the same packages at a later time instead.

Deepak Thakkar, owner of Vadodara-based Raj International, described a more severe situation. “We are facing a lot of problems. Around 167 of our passengers are currently stuck,” he said. “The biggest confusion is whether bookings from here will be able to depart or not. Neither our government nor the authorities overseas are giving a clear answer about what will happen next.”

According to Thakkar, rising accommodation costs have limited the agency’s ability to extend support. “We could support them for five nights. After that, hotel prices increased. Some shifted to cheaper hotels, some went to friends’ homes,” he said, adding that the affected group includes business travellers, workers and tourists.

Other operators described rerouting efforts to bypass disrupted hubs. “Due to the cancellation of all flights from Dubai, we are working to bring our clients stuck in Dubai to Oman via road,” said Priyanka Parikh, director of Ahmedabad-based Travel Trip Online. “From there, we can fly them to India as flights are still operational at Oman’s airports,” she said, adding that the conflict has disrupted bookings during what is typically an active period.

Operators said carriers such as Emirates and Etihad have, in select cases, provided accommodation assistance and flexible rebooking options, while clarity from other airlines is still awaited.

“Customers are not opting for refunds immediately because they need to return first,” said Yatharth Gaur, Managing Director of Vadodara-based Saarthi Tourism. He added that Emirates’ flight bookings are expected to reopen from March 6.

Nakum said the longer-term financial impact would depend on how long disruptions persist. Shah echoed that view, noting that while summer departures remain intact for now, the impact would become more visible if the situation continued for a few more weeks.

March is typically not a peak month for leisure travel to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, multiple operators noted. Yashesh Kothari, proprietor of Ahmedabad-based Capital Air Travels said, “We are not heavily affected because there aren’t many tours scheduled during these dates.”

For now, agencies say large-scale summer cancellations have not materialised, but short-term uncertainty persists, particularly on routes dependent on Middle East transit hubs and long-haul connections to North America. As a result, bookings are slowing rather than collapsing, but much hinges on how quickly clarity returns to Gulf transit routes.

(Nishant Bal, Aryan Matthew are interns at the Ahmedabad office of The Indian Express)