Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express have published a fresh operations bulletin outlining how the group intends to keep India connected with the Gulf despite continuing air-space disruptions in West Asia. Released on 11 March 2026, the advisory confirms that the two carriers will together mount 58 services—both scheduled and ad-hoc—between India and key Gulf destinations on 12 March. The plan includes ten scheduled flights on the high-demand Jeddah sector and eight to Muscat, while an additional 40 relief flights will fan out across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah. Two non-scheduled rotations to Riyadh have also been slotted: one by Air India from Mumbai and another by Air India Express from Kozhikode. All services have been cleared by Indian and local aviation regulators and remain subject to slot availability at the time of departure.
![Air India to Operate 58 West-Asia Flights on 12 March as Geopolitical Turmoil Continues]()
For travellers needing to confirm visa requirements or secure expedited documentation for Gulf destinations, VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can streamline the process in just a few clicks. The platform provides real-time entry rules, step-by-step application guidance and courier pick-up options, ensuring that last-minute itinerary changes—such as those triggered by the current air-space challenges—don’t derail your trip.
Although routes to Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain remain suspended, the scale-up reassures the 8-million-strong Indian diaspora in the Gulf—many of whom are travelling ahead of Ramadan—and provides badly needed capacity for corporate travellers shuttling between Indian IT hubs and Middle-Eastern clients. Passengers booked on cancelled flights have been offered no-fee rebooking or full refunds, while Air India Express is actively contacting UAE-based customers via its WhatsApp bot “Tia” to fast-track itinerary changes. The latest bulletin follows similar nightly updates issued since 9 March and signals the Tata-owned group’s determination to protect its Gulf market share even under volatile conditions. For mobility managers, the key takeaway is that India–Gulf air links remain intact—but travellers should build in ample contingency time and register up-to-date mobile numbers with the airline to receive schedule alerts. Looking ahead, Air India said it is “exploring every opportunity” to add further pop-up flights should the security outlook deteriorate, underscoring the need for real-time travel monitoring by multinational firms with personnel in the region.
For travellers needing to confirm visa requirements or secure expedited documentation for Gulf destinations, VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can streamline the process in just a few clicks. The platform provides real-time entry rules, step-by-step application guidance and courier pick-up options, ensuring that last-minute itinerary changes—such as those triggered by the current air-space challenges—don’t derail your trip.
Although routes to Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain remain suspended, the scale-up reassures the 8-million-strong Indian diaspora in the Gulf—many of whom are travelling ahead of Ramadan—and provides badly needed capacity for corporate travellers shuttling between Indian IT hubs and Middle-Eastern clients. Passengers booked on cancelled flights have been offered no-fee rebooking or full refunds, while Air India Express is actively contacting UAE-based customers via its WhatsApp bot “Tia” to fast-track itinerary changes. The latest bulletin follows similar nightly updates issued since 9 March and signals the Tata-owned group’s determination to protect its Gulf market share even under volatile conditions. For mobility managers, the key takeaway is that India–Gulf air links remain intact—but travellers should build in ample contingency time and register up-to-date mobile numbers with the airline to receive schedule alerts. Looking ahead, Air India said it is “exploring every opportunity” to add further pop-up flights should the security outlook deteriorate, underscoring the need for real-time travel monitoring by multinational firms with personnel in the region.
