June 6: Qatar Airways is diverting all its flights from India, including the one from Calcutta to Doha, to avoid the airspace of countries that have severed ties with Qatar. This would mean around 30 minutes of additional flying time for passengers.

The flights are being diverted through Pakistan and Iran to avoid the United Arab Emirates (UAE) skies, which have been closed to Qatari flights.

Airline officials, however, assured this would not affect onward connectivity to Europe and the US for passengers from Calcutta.

The Calcutta-Doha flight, which takes off from the city at 3.40am, took five hours and 40 minutes to reach Doha. "It's now taking another 30 minutes to reach Doha," said an airline official.

The usual route for the flight from Calcutta was via Mumbai, Oman and Dubai to Doha. But now, after reaching Muscat, the capital of Oman, the flight is taking a northern course over Pakistan and Iran rather than the direct track across the UAE.

Passengers taking connecting flights would not be affected, the official said. "The minimum lay-off time at Doha airport is one-and-a-half hours," the official pointed out.

Around 60 to 70 per cent of passengers taking Gulf carriers from Calcutta fly onward, mostly to Europe and the US.

Asked whether flights to Europe and the Americas were affected by the present crisis in any way, an airline spokesperson said: "These flights are currently not affected. Passengers are advised to visit the travel alerts page on qatarairways.com for updates."

According to the spokesperson, Qatar Airways flights to Saudi Arabia were cancelled yesterday and to the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt today, till further notice.

Passengers with a confirmed Qatar Airways ticket to any of the four countries between June 5 and July 6 can rebook their flights up to 30 days after their current confirmed departure date. One such booking will not be charged.

Eight passengers were booked for Saudi Arabia on the Qatar Airways flight from Calcutta today. They were rebooked on an Air India flight through Delhi, said an airline official. "All passengers to Saudi Arabia and other countries where our operations have been stalled will be rebooked," he said.

Tour operators said they were flooded with queries from passengers booked on Qatar Airways flights to Europe and the US.

"Some passengers are apprehensive about the rerouting and possible cancellations. They are asking us to hold the bookings," said Anil Punjabi, chairman, east, Travel Agents Federation of India.