Middle East Crisis: Air India Suspends Tel Aviv Flights; Airlines Avoid Iranian Airspace

With the Middle East tensions flaring up, Air India has temporarily suspended its Tel Aviv flights and airlines have charted alternative flight paths to avoid the Iranian airspace.

Longer flight paths will result in increased operational costs for the carriers, and the situation could also push airfares higher.

Air India, Vistara, IndiGo and some international airlines are avoiding Iranian airspace and have opted for alternative paths for their flights to the West. A senior wide-body aircraft pilot at an Indian carrier told .

Air India operates four weekly flights between the national capital and Israeli city.

The Tata group-owned carrier recommenced services to Tel Aviv on March 3 after a gap of nearly five months.

Air India suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv, starting October 7, 2023, in the wake of the Hamas attack on the Israeli city