CHENNAI: Flight services from Chennai International Airport to Middle East destinations continued to be disrupted for the third consecutive day on Monday (March 2), with 36 flights cancelled amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran.
18 departure flights from Chennai to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Bahrain, Kuwait and Muscat were cancelled. Similarly, 18 arrival flights from these destinations to Chennai were also cancelled, taking the total number of cancellations for the day to 36. Passengers were severely affected due to the disruptions.
Earlier, on Saturday (Feb 28), 28 flights, including 16 arrival and 12 departure services to destinations such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Muscat were cancelled. On Sunday (March 1) , the second day of disruption, 33 flights to and from Gulf and Middle East countries were cancelled.
The disruption follows sudden attacks launched by Israel and the United States on Iran, after which Iran began retaliatory missile and rocket strikes on areas housing US bases. Since Saturday, tensions have escalated across the Middle East region. As a result, Iran and some other countries have closed their airspace, leading to widespread impact on flight services in the region.
Officials have indicated that the number of cancellations may increase further. Flights arriving in Chennai from London, the United States and Germany normally pass through Iranian and Middle Eastern airspace. With airspace closures in place, these flights are being rerouted, which may result in several hours of delay in arrivals and subsequent departures from Chennai, or possible cancellations.
Meanwhile, all flights from Chennai to Gulf and United Arab Emirates destinations remain completely cancelled. However, services to other destinations including Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, London, Thailand, Germany and Hong Kong are operating as usual.