Kolkata: Flight services between Kolkata and Dubai resumed partially on Thursday after a four-day suspension triggered by the ongoing conflict in West Asia, airport officials said.
A flydubai aircraft arriving from Dubai landed at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 2.40 am with 130 passengers on board, marking the first arrival from West Asia after operations had remained suspended for more than 113 hours.
According to airport officials, the Boeing 737 Max aircraft had originally been scheduled to arrive at 12:25 am but landed later in the night.
The same aircraft departed for Dubai at 3:59 am carrying 55 passengers, indicating the gradual resumption of services between the two destinations.
Flight operations between Kolkata and several West Asian cities, including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, were disrupted after airlines temporarily suspended services due to escalating tensions in the region and airspace restrictions.
The disruption followed the intensifying conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which forced several carriers to review or suspend operations on routes passing through parts of West Asian airspace. Airport authorities said the last flight to depart from Kolkata for the region before the suspension was an Emirates service to Dubai on February 28.
Officials said there is still no clear indication of when full-scale flight operations between Kolkata and all West Asian destinations will resume, as airlines continue to monitor the evolving security situation and airspace conditions in the region.