Middle East turmoil: Indian airlines cancel over 300 int'l flights on Mon

New Delhi/ Mumbai, Mar 2 (PTI) Indian airlines cancelled more than 300 international flights on Monday as the operational disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict continued for the third day.

Over 300 flights, including arrivals and departures, were cancelled at the country's four main airports -- Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai -- on Monday, officials told PTI.

Many airspaces in the Middle East region remained closed amid the escalating conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran.

On Monday, IndiGo cancelled more than 163 flights while Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- cancelled over 110 services. SpiceJet cancelled at least 20 flights whereas Akasa Air did not operate eight flights, according to officials and information gathered from websites and X.

Together, Indian airlines cancelled over 300 overseas flights.

Air India operated around 20 flights to North America and Europe on Monday. The flights took the longer route of overflying Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt before entering Europe.

Meanwhile, Mumbai and Delhi airports saw 116 and 87 cancellations, respectively, during the day. The cancellations at Bengaluru and Chennai airports stood at 72 and 28 services, respectively.

Delhi airport operator DIAL on Monday said due to the ongoing political developments in the Middle East, there are delays or schedule changes for some West-bound international flights.

Various flights have been cancelled for Tuesday also.

In a post on X, Akasa Air said its flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Doha, Jeddah, Kuwait, and Riyadh remain suspended for Tuesday.

"As part of our continued precautionary approach, the temporary suspension of select international flights operating through parts of the Middle Eastern airspace has been extended," IndiGo sad in a post on X.

In the last two days, Indian carriers cancelled 760 international flights to various destinations, as per the civil aviation ministry. PTI IAS RAM TRB