Air India adds flights to Toronto, Frankfurt, Paris amid West Asia crisis

Air India on Wednesday said it will operate additional international flights to Toronto, Frankfurt and Paris in response to strong travel demand as the conflict in West Asia continues for a fifth day, disrupting aviation and travel.

The Tata-owned airline said it will run three additional services between Delhi and Toronto from March 5 to March 11. It will also operate three extra flights between Delhi and Frankfurt and one additional flight between Delhi and Paris (Charles de Gaulle) between March 7 and March 10, providing travellers with more options on these key long-haul routes.

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"These additional services will provide more flight options to travellers on these select routes with convenient connections beyond Delhi to destinations across Air India’s vast domestic India and Southeast Asia networks. We continue to closely assess the situation and will add flights on these select routes beyond 11 March," Air India said in its statement.

The move comes as airlines adjust schedules and capacity in response to disruptions resulting from the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

Air India has been taking longer flight paths to operate services to North America and Europe, routing aircraft through the airspaces of Oman, Saudi Arabia and Egypt to avoid affected areas.

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Earlier this week, the airline also operated special relief services to help bring back passengers stranded due to the crisis.

Wide-body aircraft were deployed on additional flights from Mumbai and Delhi to Jeddah and Dubai, including Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft with capacities ranging from over 250 to nearly 350 seats.

The airline had also resumed scheduled operations earlier this week to all its destinations in the United States, Canada, Europe and the United Kingdom while continuing to monitor the evolving situation in the region.