Indian and global carriers began large-scale repatriation flights after Middle East airspace reopened following Israel-Iran hostilities. Air India, IndiGo, Akasa Air and SpiceJet operated special services from Dubai, Jeddah and Muscat, bringing back stranded passengers and crew. Thousands had been grounded after UAE and Saudi airspace shut for over 48 hours.
Major Indian and global carriers initiated a massive repatriation mission on Tuesday to evacuate thousands of Indian nationals caught in the crossfire of the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. Operating under high-security protocols and navigating restricted air corridors, airlines including Air India, IndiGo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet, and Emirates are conducting special relief flights to bring home passengers stranded across the Middle East.
Flights Cancelled, Thousands Stranded After Feb 28 Strikes
The sudden closure of airspaces over the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and several neighboring countries in the Middle East on February 28 – following retaliatory strikes between Israel, the United States, and Iran – had left thousands of flights cancelled and thousands of Indian tourists, migrant workers and pilgrims grounded at major transit hubs. The shutdown of operations by the global carriers including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, along with shut down of some of the world's busiest airports like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha closed any possibility of people reaching India.
A few of the Emirates' flights to Dubai from Chennai, Delhi and Bengaluru had to be diverted back to their origin in India. As the military tension mellowed down from Monday evening, airlines started flying to and from the Middle East after more than 48 hours of complete shutdown. The first flight from the Dubai International Airport was operated by Emirates’ flight no. EK-500 at around 10.45pm and reached Mumbai Airport at around 1am on Tuesday. Apart from a few repatriation flights, UAE's airspace continues to remain closed for commercial flights until at least midnight of March 4.
Air India First to Fly Stranded Passengers
On Tuesday morning, Air India became the first Indian carrier to operate flights from Dubai to bring back stranded passengers and its crew stranded in different parts of the UAE. Flight no. AI-916D, ferrying 149 passengers, landed at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport at 10.58am whereas flight no. AI-918D brought back 143 cockpit and cabin crew members of Air India and Air India Express.
“Our operations control centre and supporting teams have been working around the clock to facilitate these flights in extraordinary circumstances, ensuring seamless coordination throughout,” said a spokesperson from Air India.
IndiGo, Akasa, SpiceJet Join Mission
Other Indian airlines including IndiGo, Akasa Air and SpiceJet also initiated repatriation operations from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. IndiGo operated four flights from Jeddah to Mumbai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad while it operated one flight from Muscat. The Ministry of Civil Aviation had stated on Monday that IndiGo will operate 10 repatriation flights from various Middle Eastern airports to bring back Indian passengers.
Akasa Air operated one set of flights between Mumbai and Jeddah on Tuesday and has announced to operate two sets of flights between Mumbai-Jeddah as well as Ahmedabad-Jeddah on Wednesday. It announced that all its flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait and Riyadh will remain suspended until Wednesday. Similarly, SpiceJet also operated three flights from Fujairah to Mumbai, Delhi and Kochi on Tuesday and announced to operate two flights to Mumbai and Delhi on Wednesday and one flight to Mumbai on Thursday.
"Missiles Overhead, But City Was Safe": Passenger
Adit, one of the passengers who arrived at Mumbai Airport from Dubai, said, "There were missiles overhead but most of them were intercepted, the city was safe otherwise. It was chaotic on Saturday, but once everything cleared, we realised we were not in any real danger. We were notified by the Indian Embassy about nine procedures and we followed it. The moment the airports opened, we booked the tickets and we were able to come back. Everything in Dubai is open now, and it seems like life is back to normal."
Over 70 flights, including those of global and Indian carriers as well as private aircraft, reportedly arrived in India from the Middle East between Tuesday and Wednesday. Despite the resumption of these select flights, the regional aviation landscape remained perilous as large swathes of airspace over Iran, Iraq, Syria, Doha, UAE and Jordan continued to remain closed or strictly restricted.
The disruption caused cancellation of more than 250 flights on Tuesday at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai airports. While around 80 flights were cancelled at Delhi Airport, more than 100 were cancelled at Mumbai Airport alone.
A lot of passengers are reportedly not included in these repatriation flights and have been sharing their concerns on the social media. According to sources, around 15 aircraft of Indian carriers were stuck at various Middle Eastern airports at the beginning of the Israel Iran conflict. Three aircraft belonging to IndiGo while four belonging to Air India Express are yet to return to India.
