- Indian airlines are facing revenue losses due to flight restrictions in Dubai.
- The airline group urges reciprocal measures.
- India was Dubai airport’s biggest source of passengers last year.
Dubai has restricted foreign airlines to a single daily flight to its airports until May 31 due to the Iran crisis, sparking fears of loss of revenue among Indian airlines that had planned more flights than airlines of any other country, the letters show.
The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which represents major airlines IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet, has asked India to pressure Dubai authorities to lift restrictions and, failing that, consider reciprocal measures for Dubai airlines, including Emirates and Flydubai, according to a letter it sent to the Indian government on March 31.
Indian carriers are already under financial pressure from higher fuel prices and longer routes to Western destinations because they have been banned from using Pakistani airspace since last year following military tensions between the two neighbors.
In a private email to airlines on March 27, seen by ReutersDubai Airports said carriers would be allowed one round trip per day to Dubai International Airport (DXB), normally the world’s busiest international travel hub, and the smaller Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) during the summer season between April 20 and May 31, expanding restrictions put in place after the start of the war.
“Carriers continue to be limited to one rotation per day, until capacity allows more to be facilitated…Additional slots will be allocated if capacity is available,” he said.
The FIA told the Indian government that the restrictions were not being applied to Dubai airlines such as Emirates and Flydubai, creating an uneven playing field that could lead to “substantial” revenue losses.
Dubai Airports and the Dubai Media Office did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Flydubai said its flight schedules have been approved by relevant authorities. Emirates did not respond to a request for comment.
The moves come after Emirates and other Gulf airlines have long complained about India’s bilateral air services agreements that limit the number of seats that can be deployed between countries. Indian authorities have said such pacts protect Indian airlines in the cutthroat market.
Indian airlines bear the brunt of the limitations
India was the largest source of passengers for DXB in 2025, with 11.9 million travelers passing through the hub.
Dubai’s limits will hit Indian airlines the most, according to April and May scheduling data from Cirium.
Air India and its budget airline Air India Express have scheduled more than 750 flights to DXB in that period. IndiGo has 481, followed by Saudia and Gulf Air, which had planned 480 and 404, respectively. India’s SpiceJet had planned 61.
The limit of one flight per day would mean 30 or 31 per month for each foreign airline, compared to the hundreds of daily flights carried out by Emirates and flydubai, according to data from Flightradar24.
Indigo said Reuters in a statement that the Middle East crisis and Dubai’s new expanded restrictions “significantly restricted” its operations as it had an approved summer schedule of 15 daily flights from India to Dubai.
“As a result, a significant portion of IndiGo’s capacity and flight time is currently underutilized,” IndiGo said in its first comments on the crisis.
Air India, SpiceJet and Indian authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
Other major airlines, such as Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and British Airways, had far fewer flights to Dubai than Indian airlines before the crisis began and canceled all flights to the city until at least May 31.
Instead, they are adding more direct flights between Asia and Europe to take advantage of strong passenger demand that has driven up prices.
