NEW DELHI — Air India Express said Thursday it has restored flight operations to Qatar and Bahrain while expanding service across several major Gulf markets, including the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The restored and expanded network took effect April 30, 2026, the airline said.
With the resumption of service, Air India Express has restored Gulf connectivity from major Indian metros and regional gateways, including Amritsar, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kannur, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Mumbai, Tiruchirappalli, Thiruvananthapuram and Varanasi.
The airline will continue operating flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Al Ain in the UAE; Muscat in Oman; Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia; Bahrain; and Doha, Qatar. Kuwait will also remain part of the carrier’s Gulf network.
The Tata Group-backed airline currently operates more than 500 daily flights connecting 45 domestic and 17 international destinations across South, Southeast and West Asia. Its fleet includes more than 100 Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft.
The announcement comes days after an Air India Express flight from Delhi to Bhubaneswar was briefly diverted to Jaipur because of adverse weather.
Flight IX-1057 made an unscheduled landing at Jaipur airport as a precaution after encountering unfavorable weather along its route. The aircraft landed safely, and there were no reports of injuries or damage.
“Due to adverse weather conditions enroute to Bhubaneswar, one of our flights from Delhi was diverted briefly to Jaipur. When the weather improved, the flight resumed its operations to Bhubaneswar. We regret the delay caused by circumstances beyond our control,” an Air India Express spokesperson said.
After a brief halt in Jaipur and an improvement in weather conditions, the flight continued to Bhubaneswar, the airline said. (Source: IANS)
