Air India and Air India Express will together operate a total of 78 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from the West Asia region on March 13. Both these carriers continue to operate their respective scheduled services to and from Saudi port city Jeddah and Omani capital Muscat.
The escalating conflict in the Middle East is costing the region’s Travel & Tourism sector about $600 million a day in lost international visitor spending, as disruptions to air travel, declining traveller confidence and weakened regional connectivity begin to hit demand, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
Air India and Air India Express will together be operating a total of 58 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from West Asia on March 12. These airlines will operate a non-scheduled round flight each to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia from Mumbai and Kozhikode, respectively.
Etihad Airways has announced that it will suspend all flights until 2am on March 2 following the temporary closure of the UAE's airspace amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. Tickets for these flights can be changed free of charge to flights operating up to March 15.
Emirates and Qatar Airways as well as low-cost carrier Air India Express have announced suspension of flights due to regional airspace closures following retaliatory strikes by Iran on US bases in the Gulf, residential districts and other facilities.
flynas, a low-cost airline in the Middle East, announced its plan to launch of a new air route to Rabat soon. flynas hosted a gala dinner in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, to mark three years of operating direct flights between Saudi Arabia and Morocco. Over the past three years, flynas has transported more than 300,000 passengers between the two kingdoms.
Dubai Airports has confirmed that all flight operations at Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International (DWC) are suspended until further notice.
Air Arabia will launch daily non-stop flights between Sharjah International Airport and Rome Fiumicino Airport starting July 1, 2026, expanding its European network and improving direct connectivity between the UAE and Italy.
Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new national carrier, has announced Cairo as a key addition to its growing network, with daily services to begin soon from Riyadh aboard its new state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Oman Air is expanding its international network with the launch of direct flights between Muscat and Tashkent, commencing June 1, 2026. The new service will operate twice weekly.
