Tata Group carrier Air India on Tuesday said it will operate 36 additional flights to cities in Europe and Canada amid continued high demand for international travel due to the ongoing crisis in the Gulf. Between March 19 and 28, Air India will run extra flights on Delhi-London (Heathrow), Mumbai-London (Heathrow), Delhi-Frankfurt, Delhi-Zurich and Delhi-Toronto, a statement said.
"Together, these flights will add 10,012 seats on the five routes, further boosting capacity and providing more choice to travellers when travel options remain limited. These services follow Air India's recently announced capacity augmentation between 10 and 18 March with 78 additional flights on nine routes," the statement said.
The additional flights are being progressively opened for bookings through all channels, including Air India's official website (www.airindia.com), mobile app, and through travel agents.
Air India Schedule For Europe, Canada
Airline operations have been severely disrupted since the start of March as the United States and Israel launched a war on Iran. Tehran retaliated with daily missile and drone attacks on Gulf Arab countries.
The showdown led to airspace closure over many countries across the Middle East. Indian carriers had to take longer routes to connect cities with Western destinations. Many flights were cancelled or rescheduled due to the crisis, leading to a surge in ticket prices.
Higher jet fuel costs due to a spike in crude oil prices have also impacted air travel.
Aviation safety watchdog DGCA has provided temporary relaxations in flight duty norms for Air India's long-haul flights as the airline is taking longer routes due to the airspace curbs amid the Middle East conflict, sources said on Sunday.
With Iranian and Iraqi airspace restrictions, Air India is taking the Egypt route for European and North American flights, which means longer flying hours.
Against this backdrop, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has given certain relaxations in pilot Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms till April 30, PTI reported Monday.
ALSO READ: DGCA Gives Flight Duty Time Relaxations To Air India Amid Middle East Conflict
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