The situation in the Middle East has grown increasingly tense since the conflict began 20 days ago. The ongoing turmoil has made conditions in the Gulf region unpredictable, significantly affecting air travel. Thousands of passengers remain stranded as airlines cancel flights or operate limited services.
Air India and Air India Express have announced that they will together operate 48 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from the West Asia region on March 19, 2026.
Both airlines will continue their scheduled operations to Jeddah and Muscat on this date. There will be a total of 16 flights between India and Jeddah. Air India will operate one return flight each from Delhi and Mumbai. Air India Express will operate one flight each from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kozhikode.
Air India Express will also operate six scheduled flights to and from Muscat. These flights will include services from Delhi, Kozhikode, and Mumbai.
In addition, Air India will operate two scheduled flights to and from Riyadh from Delhi.
Apart from the scheduled services, Air India and Air India Express will operate a total of 30 non-scheduled flights to and from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. These flights will depend on the availability of slots and other prevailing conditions at the departure stations at the time of operation.
| Country |
Airport |
Scheduled Operations |
Ad Hoc Operations |
Operating Sectors |
| UAE |
Dubai |
No |
Yes |
Air India – Delhi
Air India Express – Delhi |
| Abu Dhabi |
No |
Yes |
Air India Express – Bengaluru, Delhi, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai |
| Ras Al Khaimah |
No |
Yes |
Air India Express – Delhi, Kochi, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram |
| Sharjah |
No |
Yes |
Air India Express – Mangalore, Mumbai |
| Al Ain |
No |
No |
– |
| Oman |
Muscat |
Yes |
No |
Air India Express – Delhi, Kozhikode, Mumbai |
| Salalah |
No |
No |
– |
| Saudi Arabia |
Jeddah |
Yes |
No |
Air India – Delhi, Mumbai
Air India Express – Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kozhikode |
| Riyadh |
Yes |
Yes |
Air India – Delhi
Air India Express – Kozhikode |
| Dammam |
No |
No |
– |
| Bahrain |
Bahrain |
No |
No |
– |
| Qatar |
Doha |
No |
No |
– |
| Kuwait |
Kuwait |
No |
No |
– |
| Israel |
Tel Aviv |
No |
No |
– |
Air India said that its flights to Europe and North America are operating normally through safe alternative routings.
The airlines have advised passengers who need to rebook or cancel their tickets to submit their requests through the Air India website. For assistance, passengers can contact the airline’s 24×7 customer support at +91-11-69329333 or +91-11-69329999.
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Air India Express also said that passengers departing from any station in the United Arab Emirates can rebook their flights without additional charges on the airline’s extra commercial services operating from UAE cities to destinations across India.
IndiGo
IndiGo said flight operations to and from Dubai have resumed with effect from 4 pm (DXB local time) on March 18 following latest updates from the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority.
The airlines advised passengers to check their flight status before leaving for the airport.
Emirates
Emirates announced it is operating reduced flights due to the partial reopening of regional airspace. No new flight details have been released for Thursday, March 19.
In its travel advisory, the airline stated that customers booked to travel between February 28 and April 15, 2026, can either rebook on an alternate flight or request a refund.
Passengers are advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport and monitor their email for updates regarding schedule changes.
Etihad Airways
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In its latest advisory (March 7), Etihad Airways said it is operating a limited commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi and several key destinations.
The airline said priority will be given to passengers holding existing bookings and advised travellers to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
The following destinations are scheduled to operate to and from Abu Dhabi between March 6 and March 19:
Ahmedabad, Addis Ababa, Amsterdam, Athens, Atlanta, Bangkok, Barcelona, Beijing, Bengaluru, Boston, Brussels, Cairo, Casablanca, Chiang Mai, Chicago, Colombo, Copenhagen, Delhi, Denpasar (Bali), Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jakarta, Jeddah, Karachi, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Krabi, Kuala Lumpur, Lahore, London (Heathrow), Madrid, Malé, Manchester, Manila, Medina, Melbourne, Milan (Malpensa), Moscow (Sheremetyevo), Mumbai, Munich, Muscat, Nairobi, New York (JFK), Paris, Phnom Penh, Phuket, Prague, Riyadh, Rome, Seoul (Incheon), Seychelles, Singapore, St Petersburg, Sydney, Taipei, Thiruvananthapuram, Tokyo, Toronto, Vienna, Warsaw, Washington and Zurich.
Qatar Airways
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Qatar Airways is operating a limited number of flights between March 18 and March 19, 2026, to and from Doha.
“A limited schedule of passenger flights to/from Doha (DOH) are available to book via the Qatar Airways website, and mobile app,” the airlines said in its advisory.
The airlines added that since these flights are operating within a limited safe corridor defined by the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, the number of flights that operate each day will be limited.
“Passengers departing from Hamad International Airport (DOH) are kindly requested not to arrive earlier than 4 hours before their scheduled departure time. Only passengers with a confirmed booking should travel to the airport. We recommend checking your flight status via the Qatar Airways website or mobile app before departure,” the airlines added.
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific has cancelled all flights to and from Dubai until April 30, 2026, the airlines said in its latest travel advisory.
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The airlines urged passengers affected by this change to check the latest status of their booking via Manage Booking.
Those who booked via travel agents should contact them directly for rebooking or refunds, while customers who booked directly with the airline can reach out to customer support for assistance, the airlines added.
