Air India’s Delhi-Tel Aviv flights will remain suspended until September 30, the airline has confirmed, citing ongoing security risks and airspace challenges across West Asia.

The route had previously been suspended only through the end of July, with resumption expected around now, but the airline has extended the timeline by a further two months.

This marks at least the third extension of the suspension, which was first pushed to the end of May before being moved to the end of July.

More than 40,000 Indian nationals in Israel remain affected by the continued suspension, according to figures cited in reports on the disruption.

With no direct flights running, passengers travelling between India and Israel currently have to route through hubs such as Dubai or Abu Dhabi, adding four to eight hours to their journeys.

Air India said it would reassess the security situation closer to the new target date before resuming ticket sales for the route.

The airline continues to offer full refunds to passengers whose bookings have been affected.

The extension follows ongoing coordination between international aviation bodies and India’s Ministry of External Affairs regarding the regional security situation.

El Al, Israel’s national carrier, has been operating full schedules since Ben Gurion Airport fully reopened in April following a ceasefire, while Air India has kept its Delhi-Tel Aviv route suspended.

A number of major international airlines have similarly kept their Tel Aviv routes suspended or reduced in recent months, reflecting broader caution around the region’s airspace despite the ceasefire.

Air India had originally suspended its Delhi-Tel Aviv route in response to escalating regional tensions, and has pushed back the resumption date multiple times since as the security situation in West Asia has failed to stabilise.

Passengers travelling between India and Israel currently have to route through third-country hubs such as Dubai or Abu Dhabi, adding several hours to journey times compared with the previous direct service.

(Image: Photo by Eluveitie (Beata May), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Khajuraho Airport has been named India’s top airport despite having no commercial flights for two months.

The ranking comes from the 2026 National Service and Customer Satisfaction Index survey conducted by the Airports Authority of India, which judged airports on passenger facilities, cleanliness, security and service quality rather than flight volume.

Flights at Khajuraho have been suspended through July and August for runway and other technical works, with services set to resume around October.

Before the suspension, the airport ran only two scheduled flights, to Delhi and Varanasi.

Airport director Santosh Singh said the ranking “reflected the hard work of the entire airport staff and the trust of passengers,” noting that the survey was carried out while flights were still active.

He added that commercial services would resume once the runway work was complete.

Bhopal’s Raja Bhoj Airport placed third nationally in the same survey, and Khajuraho had also topped the AAI’s customer satisfaction survey in December 2025.

Local residents have questioned the mismatch between the airport’s top ranking and the complete lack of flights this July and August.

Khajuraho Airport’s runway is 2,286 metres long and 45 metres wide, and its terminal building, inaugurated in January 2016, was constructed at a cost of roughly Rs 90 crore.

Most travellers using the airport are headed to the nearby Khajuraho Group of Monuments, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its intricately carved medieval temples.

The Airports Authority of India conducts its National Service and Customer Satisfaction Index survey periodically to benchmark airports on the quality of the passenger experience they offer, independent of how much traffic they handle.

Khajuraho is best known internationally for its UNESCO World Heritage-listed group of temples, and the airport primarily serves tourists visiting the site as well as pilgrims and business travellers to the region.

(Image: Photo by Z thomas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

A SpiceJet flight to Pune, SG 939, was delayed by more than six hours before being cancelled at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, stranding over 180 passengers.

The flight had a scheduled 9:15 p.m. departure on July 27, but passengers remained at the airport until nearly 3:30 a.m. as the delay dragged on.

SpiceJet said a technical issue with the aircraft was behind the delay, which ultimately resulted in the flight being cancelled.

Passengers said communication from the airline was poor in the last hours of the wait, especially between 2 a.m. and 3:30 a.m.

There were also complaints that no proper food or drink arrangements were made for those waiting through the night.

The delay led to visible frustration among passengers, resulting in a tense confrontation with SpiceJet ground staff.

Passengers have sought a DGCA probe into the incident, and SpiceJet said an additional flight was arranged for all affected travellers along with an apology for the inconvenience.

DGCA regulations require Indian carriers to provide passengers with free meals and refreshments once a delay crosses a specified threshold, along with accurate and timely updates on the flight’s status.

The regulator’s rules also require airlines to arrange free hotel accommodation and transport for passengers facing an unplanned overnight delay, rather than leaving travellers to arrange and later claim reimbursement themselves.

SpiceJet is one of India’s major low-cost carriers, operating both domestic and select international routes out of hubs including Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Passengers have increasingly taken to social media to report flight delays and cancellations, often tagging the DGCA and the civil aviation ministry directly to seek faster redressal.

Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport is India’s busiest airport, handling a high volume of daily domestic and international departures, which can compound the impact of any single flight’s delay or cancellation.

(Image: Photo by Kprateek88, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0/2.5/2.0/1.0)