Air India halts flights to Europe, US and Canada amid Israel-Iran conflict

New Delhi: Air India has temporarily suspended all flights to Europe and five destinations in the US and Canada amid rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East, becoming the latest global carrier to scale back operations as conflict threatens civilian air traffic.

The national carrier announced on Monday that it had halted all operations to and from the East Coast of North America and Europe “with immediate effect and until further notice,” following the closure of airspace in parts of the Gulf region, PTI reported. Flights to New York, Newark, Chicago, Washington and Toronto have been affected, in addition to services to European cities.

The decision follows Iran’s missile strike on the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in response to American air raids on three Iranian nuclear and military facilities over the weekend, which were ordered by President Donald Trump as part of the ongoing conflict involving Israel and Iran.

Several countries, including Qatar and the UAE, closed their airspace on Monday, triggering widespread flight diversions and cancellations. Qatar’s closure prompted Air India to reroute or return multiple North America-bound flights.

“Our India-bound flights from North America are diverting back to their respective origins, and others are being rerouted away from closed airspaces,” Air India said in a statement, adding that it was in “continuous consultation with its external security advisers.”

The airline also urged passengers to remain patient, calling the disruption “beyond an airline’s control.”

Impact on other Indian carriers
Air India Express, which operates 25 weekly flights to Qatar, diverted two Doha-bound flights — one from Kochi to Muscat, and another from Kannur back to its origin — due to the Qatar airspace suspension. The airline also serves Doha from six other Indian cities and has onward connectivity to eight additional destinations.

IndiGo said in a social media post that its services to and from Dubai, Doha, Bahrain, Dammam, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Ras Al-Khaimah and Tbilisi were affected. SpiceJet also warned that airspace closures in Dubai would impact its operations.

Global aviation chaos
Air disruptions aren’t limited to Indian carriers. British Airways suspended flights to and from Doha through Wednesday, while Singapore Airlines cancelled certain Dubai flights from Sunday through Wednesday, citing security concerns.

As of Monday afternoon, 705 flights were cancelled worldwide, with Dubai International Airport recording 75 cancellations, according to FlightAware. Air India reported the highest number of cancellations among global carriers, at 38.

Experts warned that the sudden escalation in regional conflict has pushed global aviation into a precarious situation.

“It is the responsibility of states to ensure their airspace is safe,” said Hassan Shahidi, president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation. He called Qatar’s decision to close its skies “absolutely right” given the current threat.

Flightradar24 confirmed that UAE airspace was also briefly closed on Monday, but flight activity resumed after several hours of diversions.

“This marks a dramatic increase in air travel disruptions,” said Ian Petchenik, communications director at Flightradar24 told AP. “These closures reflect that airlines, controllers and crews are doing their best to prioritise safety.”

Shahidi also warned that ongoing or future escalations could have long-term implications, including for civilian evacuations.

“We do not want to have another MH17,” he said, referring to Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 people. “We are all praying for a resolution to this conflict, especially for the protection of civilian air travel.”

As fighting between Israel and Iran intensifies, and the US now drawn directly into the conflict, airlines and governments remain on high alert over the safety of international skies.