Chennai: With the Middle East boiling over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei by the US-Israel attacks, flight operations to and from the region continued to suffer a major setback since Saturday. At Chennai International Airport, 50 arrivals and 50 departures stood cancelled till Monday morning.National carriers Air India, Indigo and other airlines declared that flights to destinations such as Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Kuwait and Doha will not be operated on Sunday due to closed airspace in the UAE region.Etihad Airways announced that its flight to Abu Dhabi scheduled at 3am on Monday and the return flight at 9am were cancelled. Other airlines also followed suit and declared that their flights too would stand cancelled till Monday morning. Only the Gulf Air flight to Muscat flew without change in schedule.Qatar Airways said its flight to Doha scheduled at 3.40am was cancelled. Emirates, Etihad, Salam Air and Air Arabia also cancelled flights on Monday. “If the situation does not ease on Monday, the flights scheduled in the evening hours would also be cancelled,” said an AAI official.Chennai airport’s international terminal wore a deserted look on Sunday. DGCA said that 350 flights operated by Indian domestic carriers were cancelled on Sunday. “Passengers are advised to check their flight status with the airlines concerned and remain in close coordination with them for any required assistance,” it said.
