New Delhi, 2 March (H.S.): Air India on Sunday said it will operate its flights to North America and Europe through alternative routings over available Middle East airspaces and cancel six flights to European destinations today, March 2, amid continuing regional airspace restrictions.

The airline also extended the suspension of all flights to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar till 23:59 hours (IST) on March 2.

The cancelled services today include Amritsar–Birmingham (AI117) and Birmingham–Delhi (AI114). Flights AI151 and AI152 between Delhi and Zurich, as well as AI157 and AI158 between Delhi and Copenhagen, have also been cancelled.

Air India stated that all other flights to North America and Europe will operate as per schedule using alternative routings over available airspaces in the Middle East, though these changes are expected to increase flying time.

Flights to New York (JFK) and Newark will operate with technical stops at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, resulting in longer travel duration and increased operational costs.

With Iranian and Iraqi airspaces remaining closed, officials indicated that flights are being routed via Oman, southern Saudi Arabia and Egypt, adding approximately 30 to 40 minutes to certain sectors.

The airline said it continues to monitor the evolving situation, assessing safety, security, airspace availability and operational feasibility before finalising operations.

Amid the escalating Middle East crisis, flight operations remain disrupted, with the Civil Aviation Ministry stating that a large number of international flights were cancelled over the past two days due to regional airspace curbs.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar