Middle East conflict: Air India to operate 78 additional flights on 9 international routes from Tuesday

NEW DELHI: Air India announced on Sunday that it will operate 78 additional flights on nine international routes between March 10 and 18. The move aims to offer more travel options amid disruptions caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.According to the airline, these flights will link Delhi with New York, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Zurich, Paris, Colombo, and Male. Additionally, Mumbai will see an extra service on the London route.Except for flights to New York, Male, and Colombo, the additional services will be operated using B787-8 aircraft. For Male and Colombo, Air India will deploy A320neo planes, while services to New York will use B777-300ER aircraft, pending regulatory approvals.“Despite the odds, Air India continues to maintain its scheduled services to Europe and North America, sustaining connectivity to several international gateways using alternative routings that are assessed as safe for operations. We are confident that passengers in need to travel to destinations in these regions will appreciate the additional options and reliability with Air India,” Nipun Aggarwal, the Tata Group-owned carrier's chief commercial officer, said in a statement. Intense military hostilities have been ongoing between Iran, the United States, and Israel since February 28, when they conducted joint strikes in Iran.Since then, Tehran has launched attacks on both Israel and U.S. bases in Gulf states, broadening the scope of the conflict.The Middle East is home to more than 10 million (one crore) Indians, and according to the government, over 52,000 have returned to India since the outbreak of the war.