New Delhi, March 1 Air India will operate flights to North America and Europe using alternative routes over available airspace in the Middle East, and will cancel six flights to various European cities on March 2.
The airline, which cancelled 50 international flights on Sunday, said it would extend the suspension of all flights to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Qatar until 23:59 hours (IST) on March 2.
In a post on X on Sunday, the airline said that six flights, including Amritsar-Birmingham (AI117) and Birmingham-Delhi (AI114), would be cancelled on Monday.
In addition, the flights AI151 and AI152 between Delhi and Zurich, as well as the flights AI157 and AI158 between Delhi and Copenhagen, would be cancelled on Monday.
"All other flights to North America and Europe will operate according to schedule, using alternative routes over available airspace in the Middle East, which is expected to add to the flying time," Air India said.
"Additionally, flights to New York (JFK) and Newark (Liberty International) will operate with technical stops at Rome (Fiumicino Airport)," Air India said.
With stops in Rome, the flying time for Air India flights to North America would increase, and also result in increased operating expenses.
Since the airspace over Iran and Iraq remains closed, officials said the airline would take the route through Egypt to reach Europe, which would mean an additional 30-40 minutes of flying time.
The flights would take the route through Oman, the southern part of Saudi Arabia, and Egypt for European and North American destinations, the officials added.
The airline also said that it continues to closely monitor the situation and has carefully assessed the evolving circumstances across multiple parameters, including safety, security, airspace availability, and operational feasibility, before deciding on these operations for March 2.
In the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, flight operations have been significantly disrupted, with the civil aviation ministry saying that Indian carriers cancelled 350 international flights on Sunday.
