Air India Cancels All Flights Over Gulf After Iran Targets US Base In Qatar

Air India has cancelled all its flights over the Gulf region until further notice, hours after Iran launched a missile attack on the US air base in Doha. The airline has also halted operations to and from the East Coast of North America and Europe. "Amid the developing situation in the Middle East, Air India has ceased all operations to the region as well as to and from the East Coast of North America and Europe with immediate effect, until further notice," it said in a statement.

Air India's long-haul flights to Europe and North America overfly the Middle East, and the airspace curbs have disrupted its services.

The airline also informed that its India-bound flights from North America are diverting back to their respective origins, and others are being diverted back to India or rerouted away from the closed airspaces. "Air India is in continuous consultation with its external security advisors and is vigilantly monitoring the evolving situation. We will keep our passengers informed of any updates. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our number one priority," it said.

The airline had earlier cancelled one of its Qatar flights scheduled from Cochin. Several other airlines have also either cancelled, diverted or returned their flights to their origin airports over the tense situation in the Middle East.

Read | Kuwait, Iraq, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar Shut Airspace As Iran Attacks US Air Base

Air India Express diverted its Doha-bound flight from Kochi to Muscat and returned its flight, which was scheduled from Kannur. "We have no other flights bound for Qatar," it said in a statement.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and will take all necessary precautions for the safety and security of our guests and crew, with inputs from the relevant authorities," it added.

Air India Express operates 25 weekly flights to Qatar's capital, Doha. It has direct services to Doha from Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchchirappalli.

Besides, the carrier has eight one-stop destinations from Doha -- Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

Iran's military said on Monday it had carried out a "devastating and powerful" missile attack on the Al Udeid airbase in Qatar, after explosions were heard across the Qatari capital following Tehran's threat to retaliate for US airstrikes.

Kuwait said it was closing its airspace "until further notice" on Monday after a similar move from Bahrain as Iran attacked a US base in Qatar in retaliation for American strikes in Iran.

Meanwhile, Qatar has strongly condemned the attack, announcing it reserves the right to respond directly in a manner equivalent to the "nature and scale of this brazen aggression", in line with international law.

The White House and the Defense Department are closely monitoring potential threats to the Al Udeid airbase, a senior White House official said.