Indian carriers and international airlines are keeping a careful eye on the situation as regional airspace limitations brought on by the Israel-Iran conflict may result in longer flight times, diversions, and schedule modifications for flights on certain India-West Asia and Europe/US routes.

Why are aircraft being rerouted? Air India diverts Tel Aviv flight, IndiGo monitors

Following Israeli airspace closures due to assaults on Iran, Air India rerouted its Delhi–Tel Aviv flight (AI139) to Mumbai on Saturday. The airlines, in their latest post, have also issued a travel advisory, stating that they have temporarily halted all flights to every Middle East destination. “AI139 operating from Delhi to Tel Aviv on 28 February is returning to India due to the closure of airspace in Israel and in the interest of passenger and crew safety,” the airline stated in an official statement. It further added that “Air India is dedicated to upholding the highest safety standards and apologises for any disruption this unanticipated circumstance has caused to passengers. We’ll keep an eye on the security and safety conditions for our flight operations and make proactive adjustments as necessary,” Air India Spokesperson stated.

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IndiGo, in an updated travel advisory on X, stated that all flights to and from the Middle East have been cancelled until 0000 hours because of “evolving airspace restrictions around Iran and the Middle East.” The airline also mentioned the measure was taken as “safety and security of our customers and crew is our highest priority,” and added that its team are continuously monitoring the situation and revamping operations to restrict disruption. IndiGo has advised passengers to check flight status before leaving for the airport. It also stated that the impacted customers can explore alternate travel options or choose a full refund from its website.

Qatar Airways suspends flights; Turkish Airlines cancels multiple West Asia routes

Several international carriers have announced cancellations, suspensions, and route changes after fresh airspace disruptions in parts of West Asia. As per Flightradar24 maps, it is showing Iranian and Iraqi airspace largely empty on Saturday morning. Qatar Airways has stated that it has temporarily suspended flights after the closure Qatari airspace. Turkish Airlines cancelled services to Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Oman and the UAE for February 28. It also mentioned that it will not operate flights to Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Iran until March 2. Bulgaria Air cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv until March 2.

Similarly, Air France has cancelled to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut on Saturday whereas KLM advanced the suspension of its Amsterdam-Tel Aviv service and cancelled the flight slated for Saturday. Japan Airlines cancelled its Tokyo Haneda-Doha flight on Saturday and the return service scheduled for March 1. Lufthansa suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv, Oman and Beirut until March 7. It has also halted services to and from Dubai over the weekend, and stated that it would avoid several regional spaces, including Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Iran until March 7. Virgin Atlantic stated that it will temporarily avoid Iraqi airspace, leading to pre-planned reroutings, and cancelled its London Heathrow-Dubai (VS400) service on Saturday. Wizz Air has halted its flights from Israel, Abu Dhabi, Amman and Dubai  with immediate effect until March 7.

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Several airlines and itineraries were impacted by the blocked airspaces, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24. List of flights being rerouted or diverted were given in a post on X. For instance, the FZ984 Kazan–Dubai flight was rerouted to Baku, and a number of long-haul services used different routes, such as the AI126 Chicago–Delhi flight over Syria, the G9950 Sharjah–Moscow flight over Pakistan, and the EK225 Dubai–San Francisco flight over Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Israel-US War on Iran

The US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Saturday, while Iranian media reported seeing smoke and strikes over Tehran. In a social media video, US President Donald Trump claimed that the US has launched “major combat operations in Iran,” while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the joint strike was intended to eliminate Iran’s “existential threat.” Iran promised to retaliate and Iraq has closed its airspace, according to the AP.

What effect would this have on Indian tourists?

Rerouting around impacted areas is usually the result of airspace closures and conflict-related limitations. This may result in longer flight times, fuel stops in certain situations, delays, diversions, and interruptions to subsequent flights. Depending on air traffic restrictions and safety evaluations, airlines may also combine services or change departure times.