Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Air travel remained severely crippled in West Asia – from the UAE to Israel – with around 1,600 flights cancelled by the region’s airlines like Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways till Sunday evening across all global routes. Indian carriers like IndiGo, Air India and Akasa cancelled 350 flights during the day, according to the aviation ministry.Most airlines have already announced cancellations till Monday. Resumption depends on when carriers deem flights to be safe in the war-zone.
Late Sunday, however, Air India announced “flights to North America and Europe will operate using alternative routes over available airspaces in West Asia which is expected to add to the flying times”. In a statement, it added, “Flights to New York (JFK) and Newark (Liberty International) will operate with technical stops at Rome (Fiumicino Airport).” With Pakistan airspace closed for Indian carriers, they can’t fly Pakistan-Afghanistan-CIS to the west – the route followed by Lufthansa and other western airlines.Air India cancelled around 125 international flights to and from the West on Sunday. The Tatas-owned carrier made it clear that it has extended suspension of flights to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar until 11.59 pm on March 2. “Additionally, select flights to Europe scheduled on March 2 have been cancelled, along with the scheduled return legs of these flights (AI117: Amritsar- Birmingham; AI151/AI152: Delhi to and from Zurich; AI157/AI158: Delhi to and from Copenhagen and AI114 Birmingham-Delhi.“IndiGo also announced “suspension of select international flights that use West Asia airspace until March 2, 2026, 11.59pm IST”.For most airlines, the first priority is to get aircraft and crew stuck at foreign airports back home. Air India completed that task for its wide-body aircraft on Sunday and is looking at operating Europe, UK and North America (US, Canada with fuelling stops in Vienna or Rome) through the oceanic route in Oman’s south, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Ditto on the way back.Abu Dhabi has taken an exceptional step by asking its hotels to extend stays of guests stuck due to flight cancellations. “The cost of the extended stay will be covered by DCT,” its department of culture and tourism (DCT) said in a circular.Some stranded Indians are looking at driving from the UAE to Muscat and then flying home from there. However, the Indian embassy in Muscat issued an advisory on Sunday that “prior visit/tourist visa (e-visa) is required to enter Oman”.Indians holding valid visa or residence permit from the US, UK, Canada, Japan, or Schengen countries can apply for on-arrival visa, it said.
