Travel & Tourism

Air India & Air India Express Enhance West Asia Operations on 7 March to Bring Stranded Travellers Home

Around 50 flights planned to and from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah

Dubai/Gurugram, 06 March 2026:  With airspace over Saudi Arabia and Oman open, Air India and Air India Express continue to operate scheduled flights to and from Jeddah and Muscat. Airspace closures in other parts of West Asia still impact operations, and scheduled commercial flights to the affected regions remain suspended until further notice. To support guests stranded in the region, both airlines are operating additional non- scheduled commercial flights on 7 March with necessary clearances from Indian and local authorities. Air India Express will operate 43 flights across the region on 7 March, and together the airlines are connecting Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah with major Indian cities.

The following scheduled flights are planned to operate on 7th March 2026:

CountryAirportAirlineSectorFlight no
OmanMuscat (MCT)Air India ExpressMumbai – Muscat – MumbaiIX235 / IX236
Delhi – Muscat – DelhiIX163 / IX164
Kochi – Muscat – KochiIX431 / IX432
Kochi – Muscat – KochiIX441 / IX442
Kozhikode – Muscat – KozhikodeIX337 / IX338
Kozhikode – Muscat – KozhikodeIX318 / IX317
Thiruvananthapuram – Muscat – ThiruvananthapuramIX550 / IX549
Saudia ArabiaJeddah (JED)Air IndiaDelhi – Jeddah – DelhiAI2255 / AI2256
Mumbai – Jeddah – MumbaiAI2251 / AI2252
Mumbai – Jeddah – MumbaiAI2245 / AI2246
Air India ExpressKozhikode – Jeddah – KozhikodeIX397 / IX398
Mangaluru – JeddahIX845
Jeddah – HyderabadIX940

The following additional non-scheduled flights are planned for 7 March. Since these flights are intended primarily for stranded travellers, priority will be given to guests holding existing bookings with either carrier.

CountryAirportAirlineSectorFlight no
UAEDubai (DXB)Air IndiaMumbai – Dubai – DelhiAI4201 / AI4202
Delhi – Dubai – DelhiAI4205 / AI4206
Air India ExpressMumbai – Dubai – MumbaiIX2117 / IX2118
Mumbai – Dubai – MumbaiIX1117 / IX1118
Delhi – Dubai – DelhiIX2115 / IX2116
Bengaluru – Dubai – BengaluruIX1115 / IX1116
Ras Al Khaimah (RKT)Air India ExpressMumbai – Ras Al Khaimah – MumbaiIX1121 / IX1122
Mumbai – Ras Al Khaimah – MumbaiIX6605 / IX6606
Kochi – Ras Al Khaimah – KochiIX1123 / IX1125
Delhi – Ras Al Khaimah – DelhiIX6603 / IX6604
Bengaluru – Ras Al Khaimah – BengaluruIX6701 / IX6702
Abu Dhabi (AUH)Air India ExpressMumbai – Abu Dhabi – MumbaiIX257 / IX268
Bengaluru – Abu Dhabi – BengaluruIX865 / IX866
Sharjah (SHJ)Air India ExpressMumbai – Sharjah – MumbaiIX251 / IX252
Bengaluru – Sharjah – BengaluruIX6607 / IX6608
OmanMuscat (MCT)Air India ExpressMumbai – Muscat – MumbaiIX1112 / IX1113
Delhi – Muscat – DelhiIX6601 / IX6602

Air India guests booked to travel from any point in the West Asia region (with tickets issued until
4 March 2026 and originally planned travel between 28 February and 8 March 2026) can conveniently rebook their flights to India on a future date within one month of originally intended travel date without any additional charges or otherwise applicable fare difference.

Air India guests are advised to raise their rebooking or cancellation requests on the airline’s website at http://airindia.com or contact the 24×7 customer support hotline at +911169329333 or +911169329999.

Air India Express guests booked to travel from any station in the UAE can conveniently rebook their flights without additional charges on Air India Express’ additional commercial flights operating from any UAE station to any destination in India.

Example:
A guest with an active booking on a cancelled Dubai – Jaipur flight can now move their booking to a Ras Al Khaimah – Delhi flight at no extra cost.

Air India and Air India Express are proactively reaching out to impacted guests using the mobile numbers registered with the airline to provide rebooking options. Guests are requested to ensure their current and active mobile numbers are updated with the airline to receive these important notifications.

AIX Guests with active bookings can also rebook their flights through our AI‑powered digital assistant Tia, available on WhatsApp at +91 63600 12345.

Air India group is exploring every opportunity to operate other additional ad-hoc flights to and from destinations in West Asia.

Air India’s services to Europe (including the United Kingdom) and North America are operating as per schedule since 2 March 2026 on safe alternative routes. Due to the extended routing in the current circumstances, flights from India to North America are making technical stops at Rome (Fiumicino) or Vienna before continuing to the respective destinations.

List of routes on which Air India or Air India Express operations remain suspended until further notice:

CountryRouteAirline
UAEAbu Dhabi to Bengaluru, Delhi, Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, and Tiruchirapalli,Air India Express
Ras Al-Khaimah to Kannur, and Kozhikode
Sharjah to Amirtsar, Delhi, Indore, Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode,  Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli, Varanasi, and Vijayawada
Dubai to Amritsar, Goa, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kochi, Mangaluru, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, and Tiruchirapalli
Dubai to Kochi, Hyderabad, and KochiAir India
Oman Salalah to Kozhikode, KochiAir India Express
Saudi ArabiaRiyadh to Bengaluru, Lucknow, Kannur, Kozhikode, Kannur, and ThiruvananthapuramAir India Express
Riyadh to Delhi, and MumbaiAir India
Dammam to Bengaluru, Delhi, Kozhikode, Kochi, Mangaluru, Tiruchirapalli, and  ThiruvananthapuramAir India Express
Dammam to MumbaiAir India
KuwaitKuwait to Bengaluru, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangaluru, and TiruchirapalliAir India Express
BahrainBahrain to Kozhikode, Kochi, and MangaluruAir India Express
QatarDoha to Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangaluru, ThiruvananthapuramAir India Express
Doha to Delhi and MumbaiAir India

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