NEW DELHI: Air India’s low-cost carrier will restore all its flights to the Gulf region by the end of this week, the company has announced, months after the US-Israeli war on Iran triggered major disruptions to the global aviation industry.
Tens of thousands of flights in and out of the Middle East were forced to cancel or reroute following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, as countries in the region closed their airports and airspaces due to continued strikes.
On top of the flight disruptions, airlines faced rising fuel costs and weakening demand for months, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz caused oil prices to soar.
But as US-Iran talks aimed at reaching a peace agreement are underway, Indian airlines are joining the global race to resume flights to the Gulf, one of their top international markets.
Air India Express, a budget airline owned by the Air India Group, said it has “restored connectivity to all destinations across its West Asia network,” with flights from the southern Indian cities Kozhikode and Bengaluru to Kuwait resuming on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
“With flights to 13 destinations across Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Air India Express continues to strengthen its position as one of the leading carriers connecting India with the region,” the company said in a statement.
Gulf countries consistently rank among the top 10 destinations for Indians traveling abroad every year, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia topping the list. In 2024, more than 14 million Indian travelers visited the region, official data showed.
Indian airlines sold around 220,000 fewer seats in four Gulf states — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar — in June 2026 compared to the same month last year, according to data published by UK-based aviation analytics firm OAG.
In April, major Indian airlines warned of a potential suspension of services due to fuel price hikes triggered by the war on Iran. The Federation of Indian Airlines, which represents the country’s biggest private carriers IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet, said then that the airline industry in India was on the “verge of closing down.”
IndiGo, India’s largest airline, has also been resuming its flights to the Gulf in recent weeks, having restored more than 70 percent of its routes to West Asia as of late June, according to reports by local media outlets.
While travel to the region has yet to fully recover, travel companies have reported improved booking trends and renewed traveler confidence in recent weeks.
“Every airline across the world, whoever is flying from the Middle East, in the Middle East, or via the Middle East and all those things, is feeling relaxed,” aviation expert Anil Kakkar told Arab News.
“Any event in the world definitely affects travel, and the most affected sector is aviation. So, if things are coming back to normal, that means business as usual, flights as usual, and more revenue.”
