Travellers connecting India with the Gulf found scores of services pulled on 22 July after regional airports issued fresh NOTAMs linked to heightened Middle-East tensions and aircraft-rotation shortages. Gulf News published an exhaustive list of the flights cancelled at Dubai (DXB), Abu Dhabi (AUH), Riyadh, Jeddah, Manama and Kuwait International. Among the India-specific disruptions were Air India Express rotations IX 471/472 (Bahrain–Kochi) and IX 369/370 (Bahrain–Kozhikode), plus IX 393/394 (Kuwait–Kozhikode). Emirates scrubbed EK 840/839 (Dubai–Bahrain) and EK 857/858 (Dubai–Kuwait–Dubai), while Etihad dropped EY 653/654 (Abu Dhabi–Kuwait). Flydubai, Air Arabia and Saudia also cancelled services that feed Indian secondary cities via Gulf hubs. Airports in Bahrain and Kuwait reported up to 25 Indian-linked cancellations in a single operational session. The knock-on effect reached Indian airports such as Mumbai and Kozhikode, where ground handlers had to re-accommodate passengers or arrange hotel stays under DGCA passenger-rights rules. Corporate mobility teams should anticipate re-routing or 24- to 48-hour delays for assignees transiting the Gulf and verify SCH II approvals for alternative routings through Doha or Muscat. Airlines advised passengers to monitor apps and reissue tickets without penalty. Shippers of time-sensitive cargo – especially pharmaceutical consignments moving on bellyhold space – were told to expect backlog until normal rotations resume.
Source: Gulf News
