After a five-day suspension, the Air India Group (Air India, Air India Express and Vistara) has cautiously resumed services to the Gulf as of 30 March 2026. A revised schedule published by Travel and Tour World lists 38 weekly rotations—about 55 % of the pre-crisis tally—using longer southern routes that skirt Iranian and Pakistani airspace. Operational priorities are Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Doha, where demand from Indian expatriates remains acute. Flights to Jeddah and Riyadh are still on hold pending overflight clearances from Saudi authorities. Block times have ballooned: Kochi-Dubai now takes 4 h 50 m versus 3 h 20 m pre-crisis, forcing the airline to wet-lease three Airbus A330s from South East Asian partners to maintain crew-duty limits. Air India says fares will stay capped at “humanitarian levels” for seven days to discourage scalping; one-way economy seats on Mumbai–Dubai are limited to ₹18,000 inclusive of taxes. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is monitoring compliance and has warned of penalties for excess surcharges. Corporate mobility teams should re-validate itineraries: certain flights have swapped airports (e.g., Chennai-Dubai now operates to DWC rather than DXB) and through-check of baggage may not be available on multi-segment tickets. Travellers heading to Saudi Arabia are being re-routed via Oman Air under a special interline agreement. The partial restart offers some respite but industry analysts caution that capacity will remain tight until diplomatic efforts reopen direct corridors over the Arabian Sea. Meanwhile, Indian airports are bracing for congestion at midnight banks as airlines compress departures into the few viable corridors.
Source: Travel And Tour World
