Flights to India and Pakistan disrupted for third day as conflict continues

Etihad and Emirates cancel services to Pakistan until Saturday and warn of further changes

Travellers wait at Islamabad International Airport amid disruption to flights caused by the escalation of the conflict between India and Pakistan. EPA

Flights to India, Pakistan and across South Asia have been disrupted for a third consecutive day after the Indian army said Pakistani forces launched attacks with drones and other munitions overnight.

India’s Civil Aviation Ministry announced the temporary closure of 24 airports late on Thursday night, AP reported.

Pakistan, meanwhile, was reported to have resumed flights nationwide after services were suspended at four airports, its Civil Aviation Authority said.

Many airlines are taking no chances as tension between the nuclear-armed countries increases, with the widespread cancellation of flights until at least the morning of May 10.

In the Gulf, Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways has cancelled all flights to and from Pakistan until May 10. Dubai's Emirates airline has also suspended operations to Pakistan until that date.

The affected Etihad flights on Friday are EY300 / EY301 between Abu Dhabi and Islamabad, EY294 / EY295 between Abu Dhabi and Karachi, EY288 / EY289 between Abu Dhabi and Islamabad, and EY296 / EY297 between Abu Dhabi and Karachi.

"Guests transiting through Abu Dhabi to connect to these flights will not be accepted for travel from their point of origin, unless they have made separate onward travel arrangements from Abu Dhabi," the airline said in a statement on Friday.

"This remains an evolving situation and further changes or disruptions may occur. Etihad continues to monitor developments closely in co-ordination with the relevant authorities."

Flydubai said its flights to Faisalabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Quetta and Sialkot scheduled for Friday were cancelled, as were several flights on Saturday.

"Flights FZ 353/354 to and from Islamabad, FZ331/332 to and from Karachi, FZ359/360 to and from Lahore, as well as FZ 337/338 to and from Sialkot Airport on May 10 have been cancelled," the airline said in a statement.

"We will continue to monitor the situation closely and amend our flight schedule accordingly. The safety of our passengers and crew is our priority.

"We are in direct contact with our customers whose travel plans have been affected and we apologise for the inconvenience caused to our passengers’ travel schedules."

International disruption

SpiceJet said on social media that “due to the ongoing situation, our flights to and from Leh, Srinagar, Jammu, Dharamshala, Kandla and Amritsar are cancelled till 5.29am [on] May 10".

Taiwan's carrier EVA Air told travellers that “flights to and from Europe might be affected”, advising passengers to check the status of their flights before arriving at the airport.

Thai Air advised passengers that “due to the closure of airspace and some airports in Pakistan after the conflict in South Asia, flights to destinations in Europe and South Asia will be rerouted which may cause delays in some flights”.

Air India has also cancelled some flights due to the escalation. Flights to and from Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Rajkot have been cancelled until Saturday.

Budget airline Air India Express also posted a message on its website to say flights to and from Amritsar, Gwalior, Jammu, Srinagar and Hindon would be cancelled until Saturday.