Airspace curbs disrupt flights; passengers forced to pay steep fares to return to Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Flight disruptions continued at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) Wednesday as airspace restrictions led to multiple cancellations and limited operations along key West Asia routes, leaving passengers scrambling for alternatives and paying steep fares to get back home.According to airport officials, 34 flights were cancelled — 18 arrivals and 16 departures. The disruptions primarily affected sectors connecting Bengaluru with Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Dubai and Doha, which are among the busiest routes for migrant workers and business travellers.
Adding to the limited connectivity, Emirates operated only one service Wednesday — EK566/EK567, on Dubai–Bengaluru–Dubai sector. As of Wednesday, 360 passengers arrived in Bengaluru.Passengers said sudden cancellations and uncertainty around schedules forced them to book expensive alternate routes to reach the city. "I wanted to return to Bengaluru urgently, but my flight got cancelled due to the restrictions. The only available option was a one-way ticket to Hyderabad that cost around Rs 66,000, and from there I booked another flight to reach Bengaluru," said passenger Nagaveni Purohit."Passengers are left with very few choices — either wait indefinitely or pay extremely high fares to reach nearby cities and then make their way back, and even these tickets get cancelled. Where are we supposed to go?" said Purohit, who finally reached Bengaluru around midnight on March 3.In another case, Megha Iyer, a resident of Frankfurt who frequently travels between Germany and Bengaluru, said she was stranded in Dubai after her flight from Bengaluru was disrupted. "Since my tickets got cancelled, I requested the airline to send me back to Bengaluru. They asked for an exorbitant price of around Rs 70,000 to get on the first available flight, but again there was no clarity. I don't know how many more days I will have to stay in Dubai," Iyer told TOI.Prashanth Shetty, a resident of Jayanagar who was travelling from Doha, said he repeatedly changed his bookings. "My original flight to Bengaluru was cancelled twice. The airline suggested re-routing through another city, but the revised fares were extremely high. Passengers are being pushed to pay much more just to get back home," he said.Airport sources said help desks were operational to assist stranded passengers with information and coordination while airlines managed re-bookings and alternate travel arrangements. Officials added that normal operations are expected to resume only after airspace restrictions are eased.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Holi wishes, messages and quotes !