Indian carriers flew 58 flights to and from West Asia on Wednesday.

Besides, 12 evacuation flights from the region brought home hundreds of stranded Indians.

Thousands of Indians, many of them Calcuttans, are still stranded in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and other cities.

The cautious resumption of flights to and from West Asia was the lone flicker of hope as the US and Israel’s conflict with Iran entered its fifth day.

Amid the uncertainty, one group reached Calcutta on Wednesday evening from Jeddah. They were pilgrims returning from Mecca.

Their flight on Tuesday from Medina to Calcutta, connecting through Mumbai, was cancelled.

Kausar Ali, 49, a trader in automobile spares in Mullickbazar, was in the group.

“I received a message on Monday that the flight was cancelled. There was no clarity on when the tickets would be rescheduled. We were kept at a hotel. Eventually, our travel agent booked a Saudi Airlines flight from Jeddah to Mumbai,” said Ali, 49, who lives on Eliott Road.

The group travelled from Medina to Jeddah by bus. The bus left Medina on Tuesday afternoon and reached Jeddah around 11pm local time. The Saudi Airlines flight departed Jeddah around 2.30am (5am IST) and landed in Mumbai around 9.30am on Wednesday.

“The flight was packed with Indians returning home,” said Ali, who boarded a Calcutta-bound flight from Mumbai and landed at Dum Dum on Wednesday evening.

Amin Asghar, president of Skal International Kolkata, and director of A And A Travel Zone, told Metro: “Many Calcuttans are still stranded in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other places in the Gulf. They are calling us, helpless and confused, wanting to return home as soon as possible.”

Travel plans to the US and Europe have also been disrupted after Dubai and Doha were caught in the conflict.

Air India announced on Wednesday that it would deploy additional direct flights between Delhi and Toronto, Frankfurt, and Paris.

“In response to high demand amid the ongoing situation in West Asia, Air India is deploying additional capacity to Toronto, Frankfurt, and Paris (Charles de Gaulle). From 5 to 11 March, we’re operating 3 additional flights between Delhi and Toronto. From 7 to 10 March, we’ve added three flights between Delhi and Frankfurt, and one flight between Delhi and Paris (Charles de Gaulle),” the carrier said.