Despite continuing missile and drone activity over the Gulf, Indian carriers are maintaining a calibrated but robust air-bridge between India and the Middle-East. According to schedules released early on 2 April, the Air India Group (Air India and Air India Express) will operate 34 services while IndiGo will run 30, giving passengers 64 flight options in and out of the region today.
![Air India & IndiGo keep India–Gulf corridor open with 64 flights amid West Asia airspace crisis]()
For travellers still weighing their options, VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can streamline the paperwork side of the journey. The service collates the latest entry requirements for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and other Gulf states, completes online applications on your behalf and offers expedited passport pick-up and delivery—an especially handy safety net when itineraries can change with a few hours’ notice.
Air India’s plan—mirrored in a late-night press note and reconfirmed in airline advisories—includes 18 ad-hoc rotations to the United Arab Emirates, supplemented by scheduled runs to Muscat, Jeddah and Riyadh. IndiGo is operating select rotations to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Muscat, Jeddah and Riyadh from major Indian hubs. Flights to Doha, Tel Aviv, Kuwait, Bahrain and Dammam remain suspended, reflecting continuing air-space and insurance constraints. Both carriers are offering fee-free rebooking or full refunds and have activated WhatsApp and IVR chatbots to push real-time updates to passengers. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has waived slot penalties for carriers forced to operate irregular timings, allowing airlines to add rescue sectors at short notice. Corporate mobility managers moving project teams to the Gulf are being urged to double-check flight status up to the hour of departure and to brief travellers on possible diversions via Armenia, Egypt or Jordan. Where point-to-point options are unavailable, routings via Muscat or Riyadh remain the most reliable. While long-haul services to Europe, North America and Australia continue on normal routings, analysts caution that any further escalation around the Strait of Hormuz could trigger wholesale re-routing via the Red Sea—adding up to three hours’ block time and driving up fuel burn.
For travellers still weighing their options, VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can streamline the paperwork side of the journey. The service collates the latest entry requirements for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and other Gulf states, completes online applications on your behalf and offers expedited passport pick-up and delivery—an especially handy safety net when itineraries can change with a few hours’ notice.
Air India’s plan—mirrored in a late-night press note and reconfirmed in airline advisories—includes 18 ad-hoc rotations to the United Arab Emirates, supplemented by scheduled runs to Muscat, Jeddah and Riyadh. IndiGo is operating select rotations to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Muscat, Jeddah and Riyadh from major Indian hubs. Flights to Doha, Tel Aviv, Kuwait, Bahrain and Dammam remain suspended, reflecting continuing air-space and insurance constraints. Both carriers are offering fee-free rebooking or full refunds and have activated WhatsApp and IVR chatbots to push real-time updates to passengers. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has waived slot penalties for carriers forced to operate irregular timings, allowing airlines to add rescue sectors at short notice. Corporate mobility managers moving project teams to the Gulf are being urged to double-check flight status up to the hour of departure and to brief travellers on possible diversions via Armenia, Egypt or Jordan. Where point-to-point options are unavailable, routings via Muscat or Riyadh remain the most reliable. While long-haul services to Europe, North America and Australia continue on normal routings, analysts caution that any further escalation around the Strait of Hormuz could trigger wholesale re-routing via the Red Sea—adding up to three hours’ block time and driving up fuel burn.
