West Asia crisis: 1,500 flights canceled in four days Air India to increase capacity on key long-haul routes

MUMBAI: Airlines stepped up evacuation efforts and added special flights as the crisis in the Middle East continued to disrupt air travel for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday.As of Tuesday, Indian airlines have canceled 1,221 international flights and foreign airlines have canceled 388 international flights, the civil aviation ministry said. Indian airlines are said to be planning to operate 58 flights on Wednesday, including 30 flights by IndiGo and 23 flights by Air India. air india and Air India Express. IndiGo is one of the worst-affected airlines, canceling more than 500 flights since February 28, according to disclosures to the stock exchange on Wednesday. Air India has announced it is increasing capacity on key long-haul routes, including flights to Toronto, Frankfurt and Paris, as passenger demand surges.The airline said the additional flights are aimed at providing passengers with greater flexibility and smoother connectivity to destinations on its domestic and Southeast Asian network via Delhi.Air Canada has scheduled additional flights between Toronto and Delhi from March 7 to 21. The Canadian airline will also deploy a larger aircraft on the Toronto-London-Mumbai route to accommodate more passengers.Air India continues to offer select services to West AsiaOther Indian airlines, including Akasa Air, SpiceJet and IndiGo, continue to operate select flights to destinations in West Asia.Airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are currently managing only limited repatriation flights. Meanwhile, passenger services at Bahrain, Doha and Kuwait airports remain suspended.Emirates and Air Arabia confirmed on Wednesday that all scheduled flights to and from Dubai would be suspended until midnight on Saturday. Emirates posted on X that passengers affected by recent flight cancellations can send them direct messages on X, call the airline only if they need urgent assistance, and expect wait times of up to 2-3 hours when doing so. If booked on or before March 12, passengers can request a refund without contacting the airline.On February 28, the first day of flight disruptions, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a warning to all Indian airlines to avoid airspace in high-risk areas such as Tehran, Tel Aviv, Beirut, Jeddah, Bahrain, Muscat, Baghdad, Amman, Kuwait and Doha.