Air India To Operate 36 More Flights To Europe, North America Amid Surge In Demand Due To West Asia Crisis
These flights will add 10,012 seats on five key routes, boosting capacity and providing more choice to travellers at a time when options are limited.
Published : March 17, 2026 at 12:26 PM IST
New Delhi: Air India on Tuesday said it will operate additional flights to key destinations in Europe and North America till next week (March 28) amid high demand for international travel due to the ongoing situation in the West Asia region.
The airline will operate 36 additional flights connecting Delhi and Mumbai with destinations such as London (Heathrow), Toronto, Frankfurt and Zurich between March 19 and March 28.
The move will add over 10,000 seats across these routes, enhancing capacity and offering more travel options at a time when international connectivity remains constrained, the airline said.
The additional services will be operated on the following sectors: Delhi-London (Heathrow), Mumbai-London (Heathrow), Delhi-Frankfurt, Delhi-Zurich and Delhi-Toronto. These services come days after Air India recently announced capacity augmentation between March 10 and 18 by operatinig 78 additional flights on nine routes.
Bookings for these flights are being progressively opened across all channels, including the airline's official website, mobile app and authorised travel agents, Air India stated.
The airline further said the capacity augmentation aims to support passengers amid evolving geopolitical conditions impacting travel demand and route availability.
Earlier, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) allowed temporary relaxations in flight duty norms for Air India's long-haul flights to Europe, the US and Canada, as the airline has been forced to take longer routes due to airspace restrictions amid the Iran conflict, impacting operations and passenger movement.
Meanwhile, India's low-cost carrier IndiGo last week announced that it will operate 252 weekly flights to and from West Asia between March 16 and March 28. The airline's services include about 126 weekly flights to and from Saudi Arabia, 98 to and from the United Arab Emirates, and 28 to and from Oman during the period. However, IndiGo said operations to several destinations in the region including Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah will remain suspended until March 28 as part of temporary network adjustments.
