Air India Reroutes, Cancels Flights After Iran Closes Airspace

Air India on Thursday said it has rerouted flights and cancelled select services following the emerging situation in Iran and the closure of the country's airspace, citing passenger safety as its top priority.

In a post on social media platform X, the airline said that flights overflying the region are now operating via alternative routes, which could lead to delays. It added that some flights have been cancelled where rerouting is currently not feasible.

Air India has advised passengers to check the status of their flights on its website before heading to the airport. The airline expressed regret for the inconvenience caused due to what it described as an unforeseen disruption, reiterating that the safety of passengers and crew remains its foremost priority.

Iran has been gripped by weeks of widespread unrest, initially triggered by a currency crisis and deteriorating economic conditions, but now increasingly directed at the regime itself. This wave of protests represents the most significant challenge to the Islamic Republic's ruling system since 1979.

Although Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's government has faced demonstrations before, the current protests have spread nationwide, drawing hundreds of thousands of participants over the weekend, according to some reports. Authorities have responded with a harsh crackdown, resulting in more than 500 deaths and over 10,000 arrests, as reported by the Human Rights Activists News Agency.

US President Donald Trump has openly expressed support for the protesters and warned Tehran against violent repression. In a Fox News interview recently, he stated that the US would strike Iran “very hard” if it continued shooting at demonstrators.

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