Europe, US flights via Middle East back to normal schedule
Times of India | 27 June 2025
12 Kolkata: After three days of severe disruption, flight schedules to Europe and the United States via the major hubs in the Middle East were restored on Thursday. This disruption occurred when the airspace over Qatar was shut down following Iran's missile launch on the Al Udeid Air Base in the country.All onward flights from the region, including Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Etihad, which carry a bulk of west-bound passengers from Kolkata, were suspended for three days. This left thousands of flyers stranded at airports there and relatives in Kolkata anxious.Airport officials said the Qatar Airways flight to Doha from Kolkata departed at 4:06 am on Thursday, a delay of just 16 minutes. Flights to Doha went haywire since Monday, June 23, when the airspace shutdown led to an extraordinary operational crisis at airports in the region. On Tuesday, the Qatar flight arrived 12 hours behind schedule. Even on Wednesday, the flight operated an hour behind schedule.You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in KolkataThough the Emirates, Etihad, and Air Arabia flights to Kolkata and back were not affected, onward flights to Europe and the east coast of the US were cancelled due to the volatile situation in the region."Since Kolkata has no direct connections to Europe or America, around 500 flyers from Kolkata fly through the hubs in the Middle East daily to travel to these countries. All of them were held up at the airports there. But the situation has now eased, and those who were stranded have taken flights to reach their destinations," said Travel Agents Association of India eastern region chairman Anjani Dhanuka.Travel agents said around 25%-30% of flyers who were booked to travel on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday cancelled their tickets. But with a fragile peace now returning, passenger loads revived on Thursday. "Flights are going choc-a-bloc. People who are travelling on business to the US and Europe but were unable to travel due to the crisis are now queuing up to fly," said Travel Agents Federation of India national executive committee member Anil Punjabi.The resumption of normal flights has come as a huge relief to tour operators as it could not have come at a more opportune time. "While tourists from Europe and the US usually arrive between Sept and Feb, they usually book their holidays between June and Aug. In-bound traffic would have suffered terribly if the crisis continued. But with the war now over, this should only be a minor bump," said Indian Association of Tour Operators' Kolkata chapter chairman Debjit Dutta.