3 min readNew DelhiMar 21, 2026 05:48 PM IST
As the conflict in West Asia enters its fourth week, flight operations in the region remain disrupted on Saturday. Several airlines are running ad hoc flights and a handful of scheduled flights in West Asia, in view of the partial opening of airspace on Thursday.
On Thursday, IndiGo and Emirates resumed partial operations after the partial reopening of the region’s airspace. However, thousands of passengers lay stranded amid the turmoil.
Since the war began on February 28, Iran and the US (along with its allies) have been exchanging missile fire and drone strikes, forcing airspace closures across the region.
Air India, Air India Express to operate 42 flights from West Asia
Air India and its low-cost carrier, Air India Express, will operate a total of 42 scheduled and non-scheduled flights, to and from the West Asia region on 21 March 2026, the group said on Saturday.
Air India will operate 4 flights – one ad hoc operation from Dubai (Delhi), scheduled flights from Jeddah (one from Delhi and two from Mumbai).
Air India Express will run a wider network of operations across West Asia. In the UAE, it will operate ad hoc flights to Dubai (Delhi), Abu Dhabi (Bengaluru, Delhi, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai), Ras Al Khaimah (Delhi, Kochi, Kozhikode, Lucknow), and Sharjah (Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram).
In Oman, it will run scheduled flights to Muscat, connecting Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai, and Kozhikode.
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Demands for air ticket price cap removal
Amid fuel price hikes and flight disruptions caused by the war in West Asia, a group representing IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet warned of route withdrawals and delayed fleet expansions if fare caps imposed in December are not revoked, according to a letter accessed by Reuters.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation had capped air fares in December in view of skyrocketing ticket prices owing to nationwide Indigo flight disruptions. India’s largest passenger carrier, Indigo, held a monopolistic grip on the aviation sector, accounting for 65 per cent of the domestic market share by passenger volume. This triggered the price rise.
Since then, air ticket prices remain capped at Rs 18,000
Airlines were also hit hard by a Pakistani airspace ban for international operations due to diplomatic tensions stemming from the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack.
