New Delhi, March 6 Domestic airlines are scheduled to operate 96 flights to and from the Middle East on Friday, while the carriers have cancelled 278 international services for the day, the government said on Friday amid the ongoing conflict in the region.
The situation in the Middle East has disrupted flight operations due to restrictions and the closure of airspace. Some airlines have commenced limited operations to and from the region, where the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran has escalated in the last few days.
The civil aviation ministry said on Friday that due to the ongoing developments in West Asia and the resulting airspace restrictions, flight operations have been impacted across several sectors.
"A total of 96 flight operations were scheduled today by Indian domestic carriers to and from destinations in the Middle East. As of 6 March, 278 flights scheduled to be operated today by Indian domestic carriers have been cancelled," it said in a statement.
In another statement later, the ministry said that 51 flights are planned to be operated by domestic airlines, subject to operational feasibility and prevailing conditions.
"Passenger movement data for March 5, 2026, shows that a total of 40 inbound flights operated by Indian carriers arrived in India from the West Asia region, carrying 7,205 passengers, bringing the cumulative passenger arrivals to 14,992," the statement said.
Earlier in the day, officials said that more than 140 international flights were cancelled at Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Kolkata airports on Friday due to the Middle East crisis.
They said that at least 142 flights were cancelled at the four airports, with 39 departures and 34 arrivals cancelled at the Mumbai airport.
While the total flight cancellations at the Bangalore airport were 33, including 15 departures and 18 arrivals, at the Delhi airport, 15 departures and 14 arrivals were cancelled.
A total of seven flights -- four departures and three arrivals -- have been cancelled at the Kolkata airport, according to the officials.
Akasa Air said that it would operate the Mumbai-Jeddah-Mumbai flight on Friday.
The airline said that on Saturday, it would operate flights from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Kochi to Jeddah.
SpiceJet said that it will operate 14 special flights from the UAE to bring back stranded passengers.
According to a release, Air India Express will operate 43 flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah (UAE), Muscat (Oman), and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) on Saturday. These include scheduled as well as non-scheduled flights.
From the UAE cities, the airline will have services to Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, and Bangalore, the source said.
Air India will also be operating non-scheduled flights to the Middle East on Saturday.
The Air India group is exploring every opportunity to operate other additional ad-hoc flights to and from destinations in West Asia, the release said.
The scheduled operations of the Air India group to and from other points in West Asia have been suspended until March 10 due to the continuing airspace closures over multiple other countries in the West Asia.
Meanwhile, the ministry has advised passengers to keep a close watch on the latest flight updates and remain attentive to communication shared by their respective airlines through registered contact details.
The Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR) at the ministry is coordinating with airlines and other stakeholders to address issues.
"So far, 1,881 passenger grievances have been addressed through AirSewa, social media platforms, and helpline calls," the ministry said in the statement.
