Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Air India has cancelled all its flights over the Gulf region until further notice. This comes hours after Iran launched a missile attack on the US air base Al-Udeid in Doha.
Air India has also ceased operations from the East Coast of North America and Europe as its long-haul flights overfly the Middle East, and the airspace curbs have disrupted its services.
“Amid the developing situation in the Middle East, Air India has ceased all operations to the region as well as to and from the East Coast of North America and Europe with immediate effect, until further notice," Air India said in a statement.
It further said that India-bound flights from North America are diverting back to their respective origins, and others are being diverted back to India or rerouted away from the closed airspaces.
"We request the understanding of all passengers who may be affected by this disruption that’s beyond an airline’s control. Air India is in continuous consultation with its external security advisors and is vigilantly monitoring the evolving situation. We will keep our passengers informed of any updates. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our number one priority,” said the Air India spokesperson.
Air India Express diverted its Doha-bound flight from Kochi to Muscat and returned its flight, which was scheduled from Kannur. "We have no other flights bound for Qatar," it said in a statement.
Air India Express operates 25 weekly flights to Qatar's capital, Doha. The carrier offers direct services to Doha from Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchchirappalli.
Further, the carrier has eight one-stop destinations from Doha -- Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.
Iran said Monday night it attacked American forces stationed at Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base. It made the announcement on state television as martial music played. A caption on screen called it “a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America’s aggression.”
The attack came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran.
Qatar condemned the Iranian attack on the largest US military base in the region, hosted in the Gulf state, calling it a "flagrant violation" of its sovereignty.
"We express the State of Qatar's strong condemnation of the attack on Al Udeid Air Base by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and consider it a flagrant violation of the State of Qatar's sovereignty and airspace, as well as of international law," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said in a statement.
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