Air India to operate 50 flights to and fro West Asia today; Etihad, Emirates cater to key cities; Qatar Airways remains grounded | World News

4 min readNew DelhiMar 18, 2026 11:57 AM Air travel globally continues to remain severely disrupted after the war in Iran forced the closure of key Middle Eastern hubs including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded.
In India, IndiGo airlines suspended its operations to Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah until March 28, Air India and Air India Express announced they will operate a combined total of 50 scheduled and non-scheduled flights, to and from the West Asia region on Wednesday.
The disruptions come as Iran fired cluster missiles at Israel early on Wednesday. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released a statement saying that the force fired Khorramshahr-4 and Qadr missiles, targeting an area in Tel Aviv, according to Iranian state TV. The IRGC described the attack as revenge for the killing of Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes on residential buildings in central Beirut’s Basta and Zokak Al-Blat neighbourhoods have killed at least six people and injured 24 others.
Global airlines have cancelled their flights to Tel Aviv for the next couple of months, with similar flight suspensions to parts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the rest of the year.
Here’s a l of global flight status:
Emirates: The UAE’s leading airline, is operating a reduced flight schedule following a partial reopening of its regional airspace. Taking to X, the airline wrote: “Customers are advised to check the status of their flight on https://emirat.es/flightstatus before heading to the airport. Customers transiting in Dubai will only be accepted for travel if their connecting flight is operating.”
Etihad Airways said it was operating a limited commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi and a number of key destinations, Reuters reported.
Qatar Airways: The carrier’s scheduled flight operations continue to remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace. The airline has said it would operate a revised limited number of flights from March 18 to March 28.Story continues below this ad
Sharing a post on X, the airline wrote: “To book these flights and for the latest flight updates, please visit the Qatar Airways website or App, or contact a travel agent.”

Qatar Airways Operates Limited Flight Schedule to and from Doha
With Qatar Airways scheduled flight operations still temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace, we want you to know that we are doing our utmost to support you with your journey, and to reunite you… pic.twitter.com/d5DK1WoAgo
— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) March 15, 2026
Qatar Airways also suggested that it will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe full reopening of Qatari airspace.
Air Canada: The Canadian carrier has cancelled all its flights to Dubai till March 28. It also cancelled its flights to Tel Aviv until May 2, in view of the escalating situation between Israel and Iran.
Delta: The US carrier has cancelled ​flights ​from New York to Tel Aviv until March 31 and from Tel Aviv to ⁠New York until April 1. Its Atlanta to Tel Aviv service will witness a delayed restart, with flights to Tel Aviv now paused until August 4 and flights from Tel Aviv paused until August 5.
Flynas: This Saudi Arabia’s airline extended its suspension of flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and Syria until March 31.Story continues below this ad
IAG: IAG-owned British Airways cancelled all its flights to Abu Dhabi until later this year and all flights to Amman, ⁠Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv until later ⁠in March.
Pegasus: Pegasus Airlines too cancelled ​its Iran, Iraq, Amman, Beirut, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah flights until ⁠April 12. Flights to Riyadh were also cancelled until March 23.
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