180 flights cancelled amid growing West Asia conflict

Around 180 flights from three metro airports, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, were cancelled on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) owing to airspace restrictions amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, sources said.

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While 93 flights, including 48 departures and 45 arrivals, were cancelled at Mumbai Airport, Delhi Airport saw 52 cancellations that included 25 departures and 27 arrivals on Wednesday (March 4, 2025).

Various airlines operating at Bengaluru airport did not operate 34 flights, including 18 arrivals, sources said.

Sources said Mumbai Airport handled eight repatriation flights operated by both domestic and international airlines on Wednesday (March 4, 2026). While SpiceJet operated two repatriated flights to Mumbai from Fujairah, Air India operated a flight to the city from Dubai. Gulf carrier Emirates operated three such flights from Dubai to Mumbai while Gulf Air and Royal Jordanian operated one each to the financial capital from Amman (Jordan) and Dammam (Saudi Arabia).

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday (March 2, 2026) had said that 1,221 flights by Indian carriers and 388 flights by foreign carriers had been cancelled (till March 3) due to the ongoing situation.

As per the Ministry website, the number of departed international flights from India was 356, while 338 international flights landed at various international airports in the country on March 3.

At least five incoming and outgoing flights to and from West Asia were cancelled at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) till 1.30 p.m., officials said. The affected routes included key cities like Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. Among the cancelled arrivals were Qatar Airways flight QR050 from Doha and Emirates flight EK570. Three outbound flights cancelled were Air Arabia flight 3L0167 to Abu Dhabi, Qatar Airways flight QR0541 to Doha, and Emirates flight EK571 to Dubai.

IndiGo on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) said it cancelled over 500 flights to West Asia and select international destinations from February 28 to March 3 due to the evolving airspace restrictions.

Special flights

Meanwhile, Air India on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) announced the deployment of additional flights to Toronto, Frankfurt and Paris (Charles de Gaulle) to cater to the high demand amid the crises. Air India’s low-cost subsidiary Air India Express announced that its air services to Muscat will remain operational, besides mounting additional flights between Muscat and Delhi and Mumbai.

The airline will operate three additional flights between Delhi and Toronto from March 5 to 11, besides adding three flights between Delhi and Frankfurt, and one flight between Delhi and Paris (Charles de Gaulle) from March 7 -10, Air India said.

Meanwhile, Air India Express in a post on X said it will continue operating flights to and from Muscat on March 5, along with additional flights between Muscat and Delhi and Mumbai. “We are also operating special flights from Ras Al Khaimah connecting Delhi, Kochi, and Mumbai until March 7,” Air India Express said.

Another domestic carrier Akasa Air said it will operate a total of five flights connecting Abu Dhabi and Jeddah with Mumbai and Ahmedabad on Wednesday (March 4, 2026).

The airline mentioned that it will operate flights from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai, and one each from Mumbai and Ahmedabad to Jeddah as well as their return flights but services to Doha, Kuwait, and Riyadh will remain suspended until March 5.

“Following a comprehensive safety review and based on the current assessment of the situation, we are reinstating select flights to/from select destinations in the Middle East,” Akasa Air said in a statement on Wednesday (March 4, 2026).

(With inputs from ANI)