Domestic airlines have suspended operations to the Middle East following joint US-Israel strikes on Iran and subsequent Iranian retaliatory attacks, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and forcing carriers to cancel or divert dozens of flights.
According to flight tracking data by FlightAware, an estimated 180 flights were cancelled by domestic carrier till 1830 IST on February 28, and another 515 flights were delayed, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at check-in counters.
Similarly, an estimated 74 flights departing from airports in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Cochin, Bengaluru, Chennai, Calicut, and Thiruvananthapuram were cancelled till 1830 IST on February 28, and another 276 flights were delayed, data from FlightAware showed.
Air travel between India and the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and North America is expected to face significant disruption with flights being delayed, cancelled, and rerouted as airlines are grappling with significant operational challenges due to the closure of airspace over several Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Saturday (February 28) asked domestic carriers to continuously monitor airspace advisories, NOTAMs, and route restrictions issued by the concerned authorities before making any further network adjustments to their international flights.
“Airlines have been directed to ensure timely rerouting or diversion of flights, wherever required, strictly in accordance with global safety protocols and established contingency planning procedures,” MoCA said in a statement.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also issued an urgent safety advisory directing all domestic airlines to immediately avoid the airspace of eleven Middle Eastern nations due to a “significant escalation” in security risks following military strikes in the region.
According to the DGCA, the current hazards include the potential for retaliatory attacks, the presence of all-altitude air-defense systems, and a high probability of “spill-over” risks, such as the misidentification of civilian aircraft or the failure of military interception procedures. The designated high-risk zone encompasses flight information regions (FIRs) for Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman.
The central government held a high-level meeting on February 28 with senior officials from MoCA, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), DGCA, airline operators, and major airport operators to ensure passenger safety, operational continuity, and real-time coordination in light of multiple airspace restrictions and NOTAMs issued in parts of the region.
Air India has suspended all flights to the Middle East and announced that services to Europe and the East Coast of North America were also affected due to the airspace restrictions. The carrier diverted its Delhi-Tel Aviv flight AI139 to Mumbai after Israeli airspace closed while the aircraft was over Saudi Arabia. Another Air India service, AI126 from Chicago to Delhi, rerouted via Syria to avoid Iraqi airspace, the airline said on a social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Similarly, IndiGo announced that it has cancelled all Middle East flights until midnight, citing safety concerns. Air India Express and SpiceJet issued similar advisories warning passengers of disruptions.
The government has also asked AAI and private airport operators to maintain enhanced coordination with airlines for ground handling, parking bays, passenger amenities, crew logistics, and immigration support, as necessary. The ministry is also in close touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure seamless information flow and appropriate coordination in case of any emergent requirements involving Indian carriers or Indian nationals abroad.
Navigating a Closed Neighbourhood
The airspace restrictions will force domestic carriers to take significantly longer routes, avoiding the entire stretch from Pakistan through Iraq.
Domestic carriers have been avoiding Iranian airspace for several weeks before the latest escalation, and with Pakistan maintaining its airspace closure to Indian airlines since May 2025, airlines are left with minimal viable flight paths to Europe and North America, should they look to restart services in the coming weeks.
Cost of Conflict
Airlines will now be forced to fly south over the Arabian Sea through Egypt, or north via the Caspian Sea and Turkey. These diversions are expected to add 45 to 120 minutes to flight times and require airlines to burn up to four extra tonnes of fuel per sector.
“Detours of two to three hours on wide-body aircraft could add approximately $6,000 to $7,500 per flight hour in operating costs. The financial impact extends beyond fuel, affecting crew schedules, maintenance costs, and load factors as passengers avoid the region during conflict,” Ernest Arvai, aviation analyst at AirInsight, said in a statement.