Indian airlines boost international services; extra flights to Europe, Toronto — see chart here

Ongoing airspace restrictions across parts of West Asia continue to affect global flight operations, prompting airlines to reroute services, suspend select routes and run limited schedules. Although some controlled corridors have reopened, the situation remains unpredictable.

Against this backdrop, Indian carriers including Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet are steadily rebuilding connectivity, using a mix of scheduled services, additional flights and capacity adjustments—particularly on busy international sectors.

Air India maintains West Asia links, adds extra capacity

Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express are together operating 42 flights to and from West Asia on March 21, combining both regular and additional services while some routes remain temporarily suspended.

The group continues to serve key destinations:

• Jeddah: A total of 16 flights linking India, including return services from Delhi and Mumbai, along with an Air India Express flight from Hyderabad
• Muscat: Eight scheduled services connecting Delhi, Kochi, Kozhikode and Mumbai

Extra flights to the UAE

To handle passenger demand, the airline group has scheduled 26 additional (non-scheduled) flights to and from the UAE, covering:

• Dubai
• Abu Dhabi
• Sharjah
• Ras Al Khaimah

Operations to Al Ain are not planned at present. Meanwhile, flights to Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait, Riyadh, Dammam and Tel Aviv remain suspended for March 21.

The airline clarified that these additional services depend on slot availability and other operational conditions, and are being operated with approvals from relevant authorities.

Flexible options for affected passengers

Passengers impacted by cancellations are being offered:

• Free rebooking for later travel
• Full refunds

Air India said it is proactively contacting affected travellers via registered mobile numbers. Air India Express passengers departing from UAE airports can also switch to the additional services without extra charges, including through the airline’s WhatsApp-based digital assistant.

Long-haul operations remain stable

Outside West Asia, Air India’s long-haul network continues to operate normally across Europe, North America and Australia.

To accommodate higher demand, the airline has introduced 36 extra flights between March 19 and 28, adding more than 10,000 seats on key routes such as:

• Delhi and Mumbai to London Heathrow
• Delhi to Frankfurt
• Delhi to Zurich
• Delhi to Toronto

IndiGo resumes operations selectively

IndiGo is gradually restoring its international network while keeping several routes suspended for now.

Its current weekly schedule includes:

• 126 flights to Saudi Arabia
• 98 flights to the UAE
• 28 flights to Oman

However, services to Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah are suspended until March 28.

Following a fire incident at Dubai International Airport on March 16, IndiGo had warned of possible disruptions. After receiving clearance from local authorities on March 18, the airline resumed Dubai operations later that day.

SpiceJet continues special flights for stranded passengers

SpiceJet has been operating special flights from Fujairah to Mumbai and Delhi between March 15 and 17 to help passengers affected by cancellations and disruptions.

The airline indicated that such services may continue depending on demand and evolving conditions.