Israel-US war on Iran disrupts 100 international flights at Delhi's IGI airport

Delhi airport on Sunday saw at least 100 international flights cancelled as airlines grappled with major operational challenges triggered by US and Israeli air strikes on Iran.

According to PTI, the disruptions included 60 international departures and 40 arrivals.

“Due to the evolving political situation in the Middle East, westbound international flights may experience disruptions or schedule changes,” Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said in a post on X.

Earlier, the Civil Aviation Ministry indicated that domestic carriers were likely to cancel 444 international flights on Sunday.

Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), managed by DIAL, is India’s largest aviation hub, handling more than 1,300 flight movements daily.

The cancellations come amid intensifying hostilities in West Asia following coordinated military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iranian targets. The escalation has prompted retaliatory warnings and led to the closure of airspace over Iran, Israel and Iraq.

The volatility has roiled global aviation, forcing airlines to suspend services to several Gulf destinations as a precaution. On Saturday, passengers at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport were left stranded after multiple Middle East-bound flights were scrapped due to rising tensions between Iran and Israel.

Several flights cancelled at Amritsar Airport

Flight operations were also disrupted at Amritsar airport on Sunday as the conflict escalated across parts of the Gulf region.

Amritsar Airport Director Bhupinder Singh told ANI that five flights were affected. A SpiceJet flight to Dubai was recalled midair after refuelling, while an IndiGo flight from Amritsar was diverted to Surat.

“Yesterday, five flights were cancelled. Two were cancelled on the ground. Two others had taken off — one SpiceJet flight to Dubai was called back to Amritsar around 7 pm after refuelling. The other, IndiGo 6E 147 from Amritsar, was diverted to Surat. An Air Express flight on the ground was de-boarded. An IndiGo flight from Sharjah to Amritsar was cancelled, as was an Air India flight to Birmingham,” Singh said.

These widespread disruptions are a direct consequence of extensive airspace restrictions throughout West Asia, which continue to impact global transit corridors.

Thousands of travellers stranded as Middle East airports closed

Following the strikes on Iran by US and Israeli forces, flight operations throughout the Middle East and beyond faced severe disruptions as regional nations shuttered their airspace. Major aviation hubs connecting Europe, Africa and the West to Asia were also directly impacted by military activity.

Emirates Airlines halted all services to and from Dubai until Sunday afternoon, while Qatar Airways confirmed that the airport in Qatar remained closed until Monday morning. Meanwhile, the Israeli carrier El Al announced it was organising a recovery plan to repatriate citizens stuck overseas once the skies reopened.

On Saturday, many travellers were either left stranded or rerouted as Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain all imposed airspace closures. Furthermore, FlightRadar24 reported a total lack of flight activity over the United Arab Emirates following the government's declaration of a “temporary and partial closure” of its territory.