By Kritika Gangwar
Air travel across India faced major issues on Sunday as airlines cancelled nearly 350 flights right after the tensions in West Asia began to rise. The widespread cancellation came after Indian carriers suspended operations on their end to 11 countries in the region amid security concerns that are linked to the ongoing distress between Israel, the United States and Iran.
These restrictions were brought out in response to an urgent advisory issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which was in effect till March 2. As a result, airlines halted their services to various Gulf destinations and scaled back long haul operations.
Air India made an announcement regarding their cancellation of 20 additional long-haul flights to major European cities including London, Zurich, Milan, Frankfurt and Copenhagen. All these cancellations forced the airline’s to push their total scrapped long-haul and ultra long-haul services for the day to 48, excluding Gulf routes. Before all this, the airlines had already cancelled around 28 flights that connect India to the United States, Canada and several European destinations.
Such a drastic suspension of the services left many passengers stranded at key transit hubs in the Gulf region. In response to this, the General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates announced that the government is going to cover their accommodation as well as sustenance costs for affected passengers while flight operations remain disrupted.
Authorities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi also issued directives to hotels in order to assist the stranded passengers. The Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism instructed hotel managers to carry out the entire process smoothly and make extensions for their stays if they need to under the same terms as their original bookings. Meanwhile, authorities in Abu Dhabi confirmed that the government would bear accommodation expenses for the stranded passengers.
The Embassy of India in Muscat issued a public advisory for Indian citizens in Gulf Cooperation Council countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in order to inform them that the ones with valid residence permits are eligible for a visa on arrival in Oman.
The embassy also said that people with Indian passports with a valid visa or residence permits from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and Schengen nations can enter Oman too for at least up to 10 days.