Amidst flight delays and cancellations across the Middle East due to the war, Air India said passenger safety remains its top priority and reminded fliers to check the latest flight status before heading to the airport. It has also scheduled extra commercial flights on Sunday, 8 March, connecting Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ras Al-Khaimah, as well as Muscat in Oman, with major Indian cities.
Air India Express confirmed on Saturday that stranded passengers in the UAE can now rebook their cancelled flights from any airport in the country to any destination in India without additional charges.
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In a recent statement, the civil aviation major said: "Air India and Air India Express are committed to flying you to your destination and continue to operate scheduled flights to/from Jeddah and Muscat, which are assessed as safe for operations. Additional non-scheduled flights are planned to operate to and from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Muscat, Ras Al-Khaimah, and Sharjah on 8 March, to bring stranded passengers back to India. Due to the dynamic situation in West Asia, flight schedules can change at short notice. We recommend verifying your flight status on our website before you leave home. We will continue to provide flight updates on your registered numbers as well. Please connect with our 24×7 Contact Centre for more information."
Air India's services to Europe and North America are operating normally through safe alternative routings. Regarding the rebooking option, the flexibility applies to travellers with existing bookings whose flights were cancelled due to the conflict. The affected fliers are being reached to brief them on the rebooking options, the airline reportedly said.
Other majors, like Emirates, have been trying to get their sprawling travel network up and running after several days of halting flights over the war.