New Delhi: In a big relief for people stranded across airports in the Gulf region for over two days now, flight operations have resumed partially.
While a flight from Abu Dhabi in the UAE landed in Delhi late on Monday, IndiGo will be operating 10 special ones from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to clear the load pof stranded passengers.
According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, Etihad Airways flight EY216 departed Abu Dhabi at 3.42 pm on Monday and landed in Delhi at 8.31 pm. This was the first sign of a possible return to normalcy after most countries in the region closed down air spaces and shut down airports due to the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran, as reported by abp LIVE.
Flydubai would operate a limited number of flights, the Dubai government’s media office announced.
In a post on X, the office advised passengers to update their contact details via the airline’s ‘Manage Your Booking’ portal and to check flight status
online before heading to the airport.
Emirates also said it would restart a small number of services while prioritising customers who already held bookings. The airline stressed that affected passengers would be contacted directly and urged others not to travel to the airport without confirmation. It added that most of its operations remain suspended for now.
The Government of India has said that it is closely coordinating with Indian missions across the Gulf to ensure the safe return of stranded nationals. State governments have also begun assisting residents impacted by the disruption.
The civil aviation ministry confirmed that IndiGo plans to operate 10 special relief flights from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to India on March 3, subject to necessary approvals and prevailing airspace conditions.
These proposed services from Jeddah will connect to Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad, news agency PTI reported. The ministry said IndiGo is working in coordination with the Consulate General of India in Jeddah to facilitate passenger movement.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) that met under Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday evening, had expressed concern over the safety and security of the large Indian expatriate community in Gulf nations and directed relevant departments to take all necessary and feasible measures to assist affected citizens.