After nearly two months of war-related suspensions, Air India Express has completed the phased restoration of its West Asia network. The Tata-owned low-cost carrier confirmed on 2 July that flights on the Kozhikode–Salalah route resumed the same day, while Kozhikode–Kuwait services restart on 3 July and a new Bengaluru–Kuwait rotation follows on 4 July. Frequencies on all three routes will be ramped up over the next week. The move means the airline is once again operating to every pre-conflict destination in the Gulf. According to the statement, Air India Express now schedules about 780 weekly flights linking 18 Indian cities with 16 points across the GCC, including high-demand labour corridors such as Muscat, Dubai and Doha.
![Air India Express restores full West Asia network as Oman and Kuwait flights resume]()
Whether your travellers are heading to Kuwait for a week-long installation or rotating through Doha on longer assignments, VisaHQ can streamline the visa and work-permit process. The platform’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) provides up-to-date Gulf entry rules, document checklists and expedited filing options—allowing mobility teams to keep projects on track while avoiding last-minute paperwork headaches.
For companies that rely on deploying technicians and project teams to the Middle East, the additional capacity should ease the fare spikes seen after the April–May service cuts. Business-traveller demand is expected to rebound quickly. Trade body Nasscom says the Gulf accounts for more than 15 % of India’s IT implementation projects, while engineering majors Larsen & Toubro and Voltas both confirmed they had postponed staff rotations because of the flight shortages. Travel managers should re-check negotiated fares because introductory offers are available until 15 July on the reinstated routes. From a compliance perspective, employers must still monitor lay-over risks: regional air-space closures linked to the West Asia conflict continue to cause schedule volatility, and Indian citizens transiting through Iran or Iraq may face additional security questioning on re-entry. Mobility teams should therefore build extra buffer time into deployment schedules and remind travellers to carry printed copies of return tickets and Gulf work permits.
Whether your travellers are heading to Kuwait for a week-long installation or rotating through Doha on longer assignments, VisaHQ can streamline the visa and work-permit process. The platform’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) provides up-to-date Gulf entry rules, document checklists and expedited filing options—allowing mobility teams to keep projects on track while avoiding last-minute paperwork headaches.
For companies that rely on deploying technicians and project teams to the Middle East, the additional capacity should ease the fare spikes seen after the April–May service cuts. Business-traveller demand is expected to rebound quickly. Trade body Nasscom says the Gulf accounts for more than 15 % of India’s IT implementation projects, while engineering majors Larsen & Toubro and Voltas both confirmed they had postponed staff rotations because of the flight shortages. Travel managers should re-check negotiated fares because introductory offers are available until 15 July on the reinstated routes. From a compliance perspective, employers must still monitor lay-over risks: regional air-space closures linked to the West Asia conflict continue to cause schedule volatility, and Indian citizens transiting through Iran or Iraq may face additional security questioning on re-entry. Mobility teams should therefore build extra buffer time into deployment schedules and remind travellers to carry printed copies of return tickets and Gulf work permits.
