Over 52,000 Indians flown back from conflict-hit Israel-Palestine
More than 52,000 Indians returned on commercial flights from West Asia this week after a sudden conflict caused major flight chaos.
Thanks to a partial reopening of airspace, commercial flights, both Indian and foreign, brought people back safely between March 1 and March 7.
Flight chaos in early days of conflict
The crisis led to about 1,500 flight cancelations in just four days, most by Indian airlines.
Even so, on March 4 alone, Indian carriers had planned 58 flights for that Wednesday — 30 by IndiGo and 23 by Air India/Air India Express.
Some Gulf carriers operated limited repatriation flights, while others had suspended regular services.
Government set up control rooms, round-the-clock helplines
To help those stuck or worried abroad, the Ministry of External Affairs set up a control room, while Indian embassies and missions across the Gulf established round-the-clock helplines.
With nearly 10 million Indians living there, the advisories focused on the safety and welfare of Indian nationals; the government separately highlighted concerns about trade and energy supply chains in the region.