The city is set to see more flights from West Asia in the coming days as most Gulf carriers have begun limited operations on the 10th day of the war that has disrupted air travel worldwide.

“Mini operations” is how one Gulf airline described the gradual resumption of services.

“The decision to operate flights to a particular destination is being made for the coming 48 hours. Then, based on risk assessment, threat analysis and aircraft availability, a decision is made to operate a flight,” a source at a Gulf-based
carrier said.

According to the source, many aircraft were stranded at airports globally when operations were halted on February 28, the day the war broke out. “Also, due to repeated drone attacks, many aircraft were kept at airports away from the hub,” the source added.

Emirates resumed its Dubai-Calcutta operations at midnight on Saturday. On Monday, the airline operated one flight that brought in about 300 stranded passengers, Calcutta airport officials said.

Another Gulf carrier, flydubai, also operated one flight on Monday, carrying 137 passengers. “The airline has informed us it will operate an additional flight on Tuesday, on a day when no scheduled flights exist,” a Calcutta airport official said.

Etihad Airways, on its website, announced a limited resumption of flights. Calcutta is included among the destinations where the airline plans operations between March 6 and 19. Travel agents said a flight from Abu Dhabi to Calcutta is listed for March 13.

“Etihad Airways has resumed a limited commercial flight schedule, operating between Abu Dhabi and a number of key destinations. Guests with previous bookings will be accommodated on these flights as soon as possible. Tickets are also available on etihad.com,” the airline said.

The statement added: “Passengers and members of the public should not travel to the airport unless they have been contacted directly by Etihad or hold a confirmed booking on one of these new flights... The decision has been taken in coordination with relevant authorities following extensive safety and security assessments. Etihad continues to monitor the situation closely and will only operate flights once all safety criteria are met.”

Other Indian destinations included in Etihad’s March 6-19 schedule are Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Tour operators said the March 13 flight from Abu Dhabi to Calcutta had limited seats left on Monday evening, with one economy ticket priced at ₹1 lakh.

Emirates also announced a reduced schedule. “Following the partial re-opening of regional airspace, Emirates is operating a reduced flight schedule. Customers can check the flight schedule for flights, as well as book seats,” the airline said.

Qatar Airways, which operates one daily flight to Calcutta, announced limited flights as well.

“Following temporary authorisation from the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority confirming limited operating corridors, Qatar Airways intends to operate the following flight schedule in the coming days to support passengers... affected due to the current disruption,” Qatar Airways said.

The schedule included Kochi, Mumbai and Delhi but did not list Calcutta as of late Monday evening.

“These flights do not constitute a confirmation of resumption of scheduled commercial operations. Passengers are kindly asked not to arrive at their departure airport unless they hold a valid confirmed ticket,” Qatar added.

IndiGo said on Monday night that it had restarted flights in a staggered manner to and from West Asian destinations. It will operate 38 flights between India and 12 Gulf destinations, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Jeddah.