India’s flag-carrier network will operate 32 non-scheduled “relief” services on 9 March—announced late on 8 March—to evacuate passengers stranded in the UAE after a week of mass cancellations. Ten Air India flights will shuttle between Dubai and the Indian metros of Mumbai and Delhi, while Air India Express will fan out from Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah to eight Indian cities including Bengaluru, Kochi and Kozhikode.
![Air India Group mounts 32 relief flights to clear UAE–India passenger backlog]()
If stranded travelers also need to sort out last-minute visa extensions or secure fresh UAE exit/entry permits, VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork online in a matter of hours. The platform’s dedicated UAE page (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) lets corporate mobility teams and individuals upload documents, track status, and receive approvals without visiting a consulate—an invaluable back-up while flight schedules remain in flux.
The carrier said the programme was cleared by Indian and UAE regulators on a slot-available basis and will prioritise travellers whose original bookings were cancelled between 28 February and 7 March. Rebooking fees are waived and passengers may board from any UAE airport as long as seats remain. India–UAE is the world’s second-busiest international corridor; disruption has trapped an estimated 90,000 passengers. The relief flights give global employers a narrow window to repatriate employees whose visas or projects have ended and to rotate new staff in. Mobility teams should monitor manifests closely: the airline warned it may retime or cancel sectors at short notice if air-space reroutes become unavailable. Scheduled operations on the wider Gulf network (Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait and Riyadh) remain suspended until at least 13 March, meaning onward connections will still require creative routing through Muscat or Jeddah. Travel managers are advised to secure refundable tickets and arrange extended hotel stays for travellers forced into overnight layovers. Air India Express has opened a 24/7 WhatsApp hotline for bulk corporate bookings, but seat inventory is expected to disappear within hours given pent-up demand ahead of Ramadan family travel.
If stranded travelers also need to sort out last-minute visa extensions or secure fresh UAE exit/entry permits, VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork online in a matter of hours. The platform’s dedicated UAE page (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) lets corporate mobility teams and individuals upload documents, track status, and receive approvals without visiting a consulate—an invaluable back-up while flight schedules remain in flux.
The carrier said the programme was cleared by Indian and UAE regulators on a slot-available basis and will prioritise travellers whose original bookings were cancelled between 28 February and 7 March. Rebooking fees are waived and passengers may board from any UAE airport as long as seats remain. India–UAE is the world’s second-busiest international corridor; disruption has trapped an estimated 90,000 passengers. The relief flights give global employers a narrow window to repatriate employees whose visas or projects have ended and to rotate new staff in. Mobility teams should monitor manifests closely: the airline warned it may retime or cancel sectors at short notice if air-space reroutes become unavailable. Scheduled operations on the wider Gulf network (Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait and Riyadh) remain suspended until at least 13 March, meaning onward connections will still require creative routing through Muscat or Jeddah. Travel managers are advised to secure refundable tickets and arrange extended hotel stays for travellers forced into overnight layovers. Air India Express has opened a 24/7 WhatsApp hotline for bulk corporate bookings, but seat inventory is expected to disappear within hours given pent-up demand ahead of Ramadan family travel.
