Air India group to fly 50 West Asia flights Sunday for stranded passengers

TDT | Manama

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Air India and Air India Express will operate around 50 flights across West Asia on Sunday to help stranded travellers return to India as airspace disruptions continue to affect parts of the region.

The airlines announced the additional operations after airspace over Saudi Arabia and Oman reopened, allowing scheduled flights to resume on select routes. However, closures in other parts of West Asia continue to impact commercial operations, forcing several regular services to remain suspended.

Air India Express is scheduled to operate 43 flights across the region, connecting cities including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, as well as Muscat in Oman and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, with major Indian destinations.

Several non-scheduled commercial flights have also been arranged specifically to assist passengers who were unable to travel due to recent disruptions. Priority for these flights will be given to travellers holding existing bookings with either airline.

Passengers whose travel plans were affected have been offered flexible rebooking options without additional charges. Travellers can reschedule their flights to India within one month of their original travel date, provided their tickets were issued before March 4 for journeys planned between February 28 and March 8.

The airlines said they are contacting affected passengers directly using registered mobile numbers to provide rebooking options and updated travel information.

Despite the disruptions in West Asia, the Air India group confirmed that its services to Europe, including the United Kingdom, and North America continue to operate on schedule, using alternative routes where necessary.

Both airlines said they are continuing to explore opportunities to operate additional ad-hoc flights to support passengers while regional airspace restrictions remain in place.