New Delhi: The ongoing war in Iran, which started after Israel launched airstrikes last week has severely impacted the aviation industry. More than 23,000 flights from the Middle East have been cancelled since the conflict began. There were more than 36,000 flights scheduled either to the Middle East or were set to depart from there, half of which have now been called off. This has impacted more than 4.4 million passengers.
Thousands stranded in Middle East, forced to take longer routes
Meanwhile, following such huge flight cancellations, thousands of passengers are still stranded in the various countries of the Middle East. They are now being forced to opt for longer and more expensive routes to complete their travel or reach operational airports in Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Most countries of the Middle East, including, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, apart from Iran and Israel had announced the closure of their airspaces, soon after the conflict broke out in the region. This has led to the chaotic situation.
Several airlines also announced alternate routes that they will take to reach the Western countries, like Europe and US.
According to a report in Network18, Air India is operating additional flights between Delhi and Canada. Three additional flights are scheduled between Delhi and Toronto, between March 5 and 11. Between March 7 to March 10, the airlines will add 3 flights between Delhi and Frankfurt, apart from extra services between Delhi and Paris.
Air India said that it is planning to add more flights between Delhi and Jeddah and Mumbai and Jeddah to fill in for cancelled flights from other carriers.
Emirates worst hit due to Middle East crisis
Meanwhile, Emirates, the world’s largest international airline is said to be the worst affected carrier in these trying times. The airlines has extended the cancellation of its flight to and from Dubai in UAE till March 7. They have reportedly cancelled 2,000 flights since Saturday, making it one of the worst disruptions in the company’s history.
Emirates has only resumed limited services in the region, to evacuate stranded passengers. Regular commercial operations are still to resume, said a company spokesperson.
Qatar Airways has suspended flight operations to the region till Friday. Similarly Oman Air has cancelled its flights to several destinations, including Amman, Dubai, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Kuwait, Copenhagen, Baghdad, and Khasab till March 6. All flights operated by Lufthansa group to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Jordan, Erbil, Iraq, and Tehran have been suspended till March 8.
Lufthansa has also suspended flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi till March 6.