Limited evacuation flights have resumed from cities such as Mumbai and Delhi to bring back stranded Indians, and Ahmedabad has now been included in these special arrangements
Nearly 200 Indian nationals stranded in West Asia returned to Ahmedabad late Tuesday night on a special IndiGo flight from Jeddah, offering relief to anxious families in Gujarat.
The flight had departed earlier in the day from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) and brought back passengers affected by widespread travel disruptions triggered by the escalating Iran-Israel conflict.
VIDEO | Around 200 stranded Indians arrived in Ahmedabad from Jeddah on a special flight after being stuck due to the ongoing Middle East conflict and flight disruptions.
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/RJaPlP5Oi7
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 4, 2026
Air services across much of West Asia have been severely impacted due to rising tensions between Iran and Israel. Limited evacuation flights have resumed from cities such as Mumbai and Delhi to bring back stranded Indians, and Ahmedabad has now been included in these special arrangements.
Efforts are also underway to facilitate the return of passengers through flights operated by Etihad Airways and Emirates from Ahmedabad. However, several departures scheduled for Tuesday afternoon were cancelled amid the tense situation. These included IndiGo flights from Ahmedabad to Jeddah, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, as well as a SpiceJet service from Ahmedabad to Dubai.
Flight cancellations and disruptions
Since the conflict began last Saturday, over 6,000 flights have been cancelled owing to the closed airspace in most of West Asia.
As of Wednesday, data on Flightradar24 showed disruptions across the Gulf, including in Dubai International Airport, Doha Hamad International Airport, Istanbul International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport.
By Monday morning, widespread disruptions had grounded the majority of flights to several Middle Eastern destinations. According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, 79 per cent of global flights bound for Qatar and 71 per cent of those heading to the United Arab Emirates were cancelled. The impact was even greater elsewhere in the region, with 81 per cent of flights to Israel and 92 per cent of flights to Bahrain also called off.
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