Air India to run 36 extra flights to Europe, North America amid tensions

Against the backdrop of shifting skies and strained air corridors, Air India is spreading its wings wider, announcing a fresh wave of additional long-haul flights to Europe and North America to meet surging travel demand amid ongoing tensions in West Asia.

From 19 March to 28 March, the airline will operate 36 extra services linking Delhi and Mumbai with some of the world’s busiest gateways—London Heathrow Airport, Toronto, Frankfurt and Zurich. The expansion will inject over 10,000 additional seats into these routes, offering much-needed relief to travellers navigating a turbulent global aviation landscape.

The move builds on an earlier capacity surge, when the airline deployed 78 additional flights between 10 March and 18 March, underscoring a sustained effort to keep international connectivity afloat as geopolitical uncertainties reshape flight paths and schedules.

Bookings for these newly added services are being rolled out across platforms, from the airline’s website and mobile app to authorised travel agents, as demand continues to swell.

The expansion comes at a time when longer, more circuitous routes have become the new normal. Airspace restrictions linked to regional conflicts have forced airlines to redraw their maps, prompting the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to grant temporary relaxations in flight duty norms for long-haul operations to Europe, the US and Canada.

Meanwhile, IndiGo is also recalibrating its network, planning 252 weekly flights to and from West Asia between 16 March and 28 March. Even so, services to several destinations — including Doha, Kuwait City, Bahrain, Dammam, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah — will remain suspended until 28 March as part of temporary adjustments.

In a world where geopolitics increasingly dictates flight paths, airlines are not just transporting passengers — they are navigating uncertainty itself, balancing demand with disruption in the ever-evolving theatre of global travel.

With IANS inputs