Airlines Resume Flight Ops in West Asia, Europe

WITH the situation in the Middle East easing the tense atmosphere on Monday and Qatar opening its airspace, airlines operating to and from India have announced a gradual resumption of operations beginning Tuesday.

- S LALITHA @New Delhi

Major airlines had announced a shutdown late on Monday, and a few had said that flights could take longer routes than scheduled.

Air India Express, the most prominent Indian player in the Gulf space, operates 900 flights every week between cities in India and 13 destinations in the Middle East.

In a release, the airline said, "Air India Express is progressively resuming its operations to the Middle East from today, June 24, as airspaces in the region reopen. Our first flight to the region today will be on the Delhi-Muscat route, followed by services on the Mumbai-Muscat, Kozhikode-Muscat, Kozhikode-Riyadh, and Jaipur-Jeddah routes."

Air India Express flights to and from key cities in the UAE—including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, and Ras Al Khaimah—as well as other cities in the Middle East, are scheduled from Wednesday (June 25), it added.