Many Air India flights diverted as Middle East crisis escalates

Air India said that their flights are either being diverted or returning to their origin due to the emerging situation in Iran and the subsequent closure of its airspace.

New Delhi: Sixteen Air India flights, including a London-Bengaluru flight to Sharjah, were diverted or returned to their origin airports following escalating tensions between Israel and Iran following both sides launching attacks against each other.

Two IndiGo flights – Delhi-Istanbul and Mumbai-Istanbul – were also impacted and re-routed.

Among the Air India flights were a London Heathrow-Bengaluru flight, which was diverted to Sharjah. Five of the 16 flights -- headed to London, New York, Washington, Newark and Toronto -- returned to Mumbai and Delhi airports from where it originated.

Air India said in a statement that Air India flights are either being diverted or returning to their origin due to the emerging situation in Iran and the subsequent closure of its airspace.

"We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers due to this unforeseen disruption and are making every effort to minimize it, including providing accommodation for passengers. Refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling is also being offered to guests who opt for it. Alternative arrangements are being made to fly passengers to their destinations," it said.

While the London Heathrow-Mumbai flight was diverted to Vienna, the New York-Delhi was diverted to Sharjah, New York-Mumbai to Jeddah, London Heathrow-Delhi to Mumbai, Vancouver-Delhi – Diverting to Jeddah, Delhi-New York to Frankfurt/Milan, Chicago-Delhi to Jeddah, London Heathrow-Delhi to Vienna, Washington-Delhi to Vienna and Toronto-Delhi to Frankfurt among others.

In a separate incident, a Delhi-bound Air India flight returned to Thailand's Phuket following a security alert on Friday. Mandatory security checks were conducted at Phuket International Airport. During the cruising phase of the flight a security alert was received after which the pilot took a mid-air turn back to Phuket, officials said.

The live flight tracking website flightradar24 said the flight AI 379 took off from Phuket at 9:30 AM (local time) and was scheduled to land in Delhi at 12:40 PM (local time) but landed at the Phuket airport at 11:46 AM.