IndiGo extends full cancellation waiver for Middle East, Istanbul flights till March 31

IndiGo on Friday extended a full waiver on cancellation charges for travel to and from the Middle East and Istanbul till March 31 as flight operations continue to be affected due to the volatile situation in the region.

In a travel advisory posted on social media platform X, the airline said passengers can cancel bookings for travel to and from the Middle East and Istanbul without any charges until March 31, 2026.

“As the situation in Middle East remains volatile, IndiGo extends free waivers on cancellations up till the 31st of March 2026,” the airline said.

It advised customers scheduled to travel to regularly check their flight status.

The advisory comes as multiple Indian carriers continue to face disruptions due to escalating tensions in West Asia that have led to airspace closures across parts of the region.

Budget carrier SpiceJet said it will operate 14 special flights from the UAE on Friday to bring back passengers stranded due to the conflict.

The airline said it has already operated 25 special flights from the UAE to Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi over the past three days.

On Friday, the carrier will run nine flights from Fujairah to Mumbai, four services to Delhi and one flight from Dubai to Pune.

Meanwhile, Air India and its low-cost arm Air India Express have started resuming some flights to the region after assessing certain airspaces as safe for operations.

The airline group said airspaces over Saudi Arabia and Oman remain open, allowing scheduled flights to resume to Jeddah and Muscat on March 5 and March 6.

Scheduled flights on March 5 and 6 include services from Delhi and Mumbai to Jeddah operated by Air India and multiple Air India Express flights between Indian cities and Muscat, including routes from Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangaluru, Tiruchirappalli and Thiruvananthapuram.

However, operations to several other destinations in West Asia remain suspended until March 10 due to continuing airspace closures in some countries.

Air India and Air India Express are also operating additional ad-hoc special flights to and from Dubai, Muscat and Ras Al Khaimah on March 5 and 6, subject to slot availability and operational conditions.

The airline group has also offered flexible rebooking options to affected passengers.

Air India said passengers holding tickets issued until March 4 for travel between February 28 and March 8 can rebook their journey to India within one month of the original travel date without additional charges.

Air India Express has also allowed passengers booked on cancelled UAE flights to shift their bookings to alternative flights from other UAE airports to destinations in India without paying extra charges.

According to the civil aviation ministry, Indian carriers cancelled 281 international flights on Thursday due to the crisis in the Middle East.

The ministry said it is closely monitoring the evolving situation in West Asia as the escalating conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran continues to disrupt aviation operations.

“As of 5 March, a total of 281 flights scheduled to operate today by Indian domestic carriers have been cancelled. Passengers are advised to regularly monitor their flight status and remain attentive to updates shared through their registered contact details by their respective airlines,” the ministry said on X.

The ministry also said a Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR) is operational to help affected travellers.