Travel firms scramble as West Asia airspace closures strand Indian travellers

Bengaluru: Tour operators and online travel companies in India are scrambling to manage the fallout from airspace closures over West Asia, as thousands of travellers face uncertainty and cancelled flights.

“Passenger confidence and booking behaviour get affected by changes in departure times, reroutes and advisory updates,” said Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) President Ravi Gosain.

He added that to help travellers navigate through this dire situation, tour operators are providing flexible rebooking options, while working closely with airlines to keep them informed.

To support passengers amid these disruptions, companies have ramped up operational measures, including the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). MakeMyTrip has increased customer support capacity by 2.5 times and is leveraging AI to deliver timely updates, while ixigo has initiated proactive Voice AI calls to travellers whose plans may be affected.

EaseMyTrip Co-founder Rikant Pittie advised passengers on X to keep return travel plans flexible.

According to Gosain, the travel industry has strengthened crisis response systems after previous disruptions, enabling better operational flexibility for travellers navigating these uncertain times.

The disruptions come amid escalating tensions in West Asia, where missiles and drone barrages by Iran toward targets in the Gulf, aimed at US military assets, have forced temporary closures of key transit hubs including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

This has brought one of the world’s busiest aviation corridors to a near halt, stranding thousands of Indian travellers and disrupting over 1,000 flights to and from India in three days, according to industry-tracking sites.

Over decades, carriers such as Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways have built seamless long-haul networks through these hubs. With the airspace now restricted, international travel has been severely affected.

“The airspace shutdown in specific regions of West Asia resulted in 100 per cent flight cancellations for Gulf-bound flights from India operated by Emirates, Air India, IndiGo and Etihad Airways, among others,” Gosain said.

He noted that international routes were hit the hardest, while domestic operations mostly faced delays, adding that around 5 per cent of flights resumed after receiving clearance.

Bloomberg reported that Indian carriers are among the hardest-hit outside West Asia, with 357 flights cancelled on Sunday alone and over 250 cancelled at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai airports on Tuesday. With West Asia handling more than 50-60 per cent of India-Europe transit traffic, these closures have created severe bottlenecks across global aviation networks.

Air India, for instance, said on X that it has "resumed flights to the USA, Canada, Europe and the UK, prioritising safety, while temporarily suspending operations to and from the Middle East until 2359 Hrs (IST) of 3 March 2026".

Outbound tourism has also suffered, particularly with summer approaching. The UAE received about 8.6 million Indian travellers in 2025, with 11.9 million passing through Dubai International Airport.

Attractions such as Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall make the emirate a preferred destination, but airport closures and uncertainty have forced many travellers to cancel or defer plans.

While several carriers have begun relief flights, the evolving situation continues to cast uncertainty over one of the world’s most critical aviation corridors, affecting not only business and leisure travel, but also India’s connectivity with Europe and North America.