The Air India Group on Saturday announced that the airline and Air India Express will operate a combined 50 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from the West Asia region on Sunday, March 22.
The Tata Group-owned airline’s announcement comes amid the ongoing conflict between Israel, the US and Iran, which has also raised tensions in West Asia – with no signs of easing.
According to a statement on Friday, Air India and Air India Express will resume their regular flights to and from Jeddah and Muscat on Sunday – with a total of 20 flights operating between India and Jeddah.
Which cities do Jeddah flights connect with?
Of the 20 scheduled flights between Jeddah and India, Air India will operate one return service each from Delhi and Mumbai. Air India Express will operate one flight each from Bengaluru and Mangalore and two flights from Kozhikode, the statement said.
Air India Express will also operate eight scheduled flights to and from Muscat, including services from Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai and Kannur.
What are the next flights?
Apart from scheduled routes, Air India and Air India Express will operate a total of 30 non-scheduled flights to and from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia – subject to slot availability and other prevailing conditions at the departure stations at any given time.
These flights are operated with the required permissions from the relevant Indian and local regulatory authorities, Air India said.
The UAE flights would operate between Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah Airports and Delhi, Bengaluru, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai, among other major Indian cities.
The additional Air India flights come amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, which entered its fourth week on Saturday, March 21.
Iran launched a wave of retaliatory attacks after the US and Israel jointly attacked the Islamic Republic on Saturday, February 28. The explosions were reported across the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi and other centers in the Persian Gulf – which are also home to US military bases.
DGCA advises airlines to avoid Gulf airspace
On Friday, March 20, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asked airlines to avoid certain airspaces in the Persian Gulf region and ensure contingency plans as part of a security risk assessment, ANI reported citing sources.
Earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority had temporarily allowed Air India to relax its flight service standards amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, sources said. According to sources, Air India is operating flights on longer alternative routes, resulting in longer flight hours due to restrictions in Iranian and Iraqi airspace. As it happened, the DGCA has granted Air India a temporary relaxation in flight duty norms until the situation in Iran is resolved, the report said.
