Air India, IndiGo, Emirates, Qatar Airways suspend flight operations for up to 3 March as Dubai airport remains closed
Tens of thousand of passengers were stranded around the world as airlines sought to reroute around the Middle East. Dubai Airport remained closed on the day as the war in Iran escalated.
Air India, IndiGo and Qatar Airways were among the airlines that extended their suspension of operations in the Middle East on Monday, owing to the conflict in the region triggered by the war in Iran, while Dubai International Airport remained closed.
Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded around the world as airlines sought to reroute flights to avoid the Middle East. Flight tracking website FlightAware said airlines have cancelled more than 2,700 flights globally and more than 12,300 flights are delayed as of 1720 GMT Sunday.
Air India cancels flights
In a post on X, Air India said its operations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Qatar remain suspended in view of the situation in the Middle East and the closure of Dubai International Airport.
“In view of the continuing situation in the Middle East, Air India has extended the suspension of all flights to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Qatar until 2359 hrs IST on 2 March 2026," the airline said.
Additionally, some flights to Europe scheduled for 2 March 2026 have been cancelled, as well as the scheduled return legs of these flights, Air India said. The suspended flights include —
• AI117: Amritsar to Birmingham
• AI151/AI152: Delhi to Zurich and vice versa
• AI157/AI158: Delhi to Copenhagen and vice versa
• AI114: Birmingham to Delhi
IndiGo Middle East operations halted
IndiGo asked its passengers to refer to its website for the list of cancelled flights, as the suspension of operations extended to 2 March.
“In view of the prevailing situation, the temporary suspension of select international flights that use Middle East airspace, has been extended until 2nd March 2026, 2359 hrs IST. Please refer to the list of cancelled flights on our website https://goindigo.in/information/flight-cancellations.html. This extension is a precautionary measure to ensure that we uphold the highest standards of safety for our customers and crew,” the airline said in a post on X.
Akasa Air issues statement
Budget carrier Akasa Air also suspended all its Middle East operations.
“Due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, all Akasa Air flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Doha, Jeddah, Kuwait and Riyadh have also been suspended for March 03, 2026. We will continue updating our flight status for these destinations, basis the prevailing situation at the time,” the airline said.
“For all bookings made to/from these cities until March 07, 2026, passengers may opt for a full refund or reschedule their travel at no additional cost,” it added.
International carriers suspend operations
The conflict also hit international carriers, especially those operating out of the Middle East.
Qatar Airways announced that it had temporarily suspended all operations owing to the closure of the airspace in the country.
“Qatar Airways flight operations remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace. Qatar Airways will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace. A further update will be provided on March 03 by 09:00 Doha time (06:00 UTC).”
It advised passengers to visit its official website to check the status of their scheduled flights and whether they had been cancelled.
Emirates also suspended all operations to and from Dubai, due to multiple airspace closures.
“Due to multiple regional airspace closures, Emirates has temporarily suspended all operations to and from Dubai, up until 1500hrs UAE time on Monday, 2 March,” the airline said in a post on X.
It said that passengers could either reschedule their flights for up to 20 days of their original date of travel, or request a refund by cancelling their journey.
Dubai airports remain closed
The Dubai International Airport, in a post on X, said on Saturday that operations at DXB as well as Dubai World Central airports were suspended until further notice.
“Flight operations at @DXB and Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International (DWC) have been suspended until further notice. Guests are advised not to travel to the airport, and to check with their airlines for flight updates,” it said.
Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates had all announced at least partial closures of their skies.
About the Author
Swastika is a Digital Content Producer at LiveMint, covering business news and business trends. She has always been intrigued by the numbers that drive news, which has led to a passion for covering finances as a beat - be it personal finance or corporate. Originally from Kolkata, Swastika’s love for news started at home where her family made sure she read newspapers since she was a kid. <br> With over five years of experience in digital news, and one year at LiveMint, her focus includes writing on the business and personal finance beats. Swastika is a 2020 graduate from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, with a specialisation in New Media. Before her current role at LiveMint, she worked at major publications like The Telegraph Online, News18.com and The Economic Times. As a Digital Content Producer at LiveMint, she has extensively covered topics like income tax, Union Budget, economy, personal finance tools and cryptocurrency. <br> Swastika’s specialisations include: <br> Corporate news: Writing and breaking stories from corporates and companies <br> Business trends: Finding what's trending in business and churning original stories <br> Personal finance explainers: Writing explainers on income tax, provident fund, etc. <br> Swastika can be followed on her <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/swastika-das-sharma-82a464153/">LinkedIn</a> profile as well as on X at <a href="https://x.com/swastika1005">@swastika1005</a>. She can be reached by email via <a href="swastika.sharma@htdigital.in">swastika.sharma@htdigital.in</a>.