More than a month into the West Asia war, the Bengaluru and Mangaluru international airports have been hit hard, with over 1,300 flights cancelled. The conflict, which began on February 28 following joint US-Israel strikes on Iran, has brought the region to a critical turning point and disrupted air travel worldwide.

According to data shared by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), 891 flights have been cancelled at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) from February 28 to March 31. KIA handles about 600 flights daily and connects to 34 international destinations. The key destinations affected include Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Dubai, and Doha. Flights from Jeddah and Abu Dhabi continue to operate.

The flight disruptions have had a cascading effect.

The impact on luxury taxis and premium cab services operating to and from KIA has been immense, Radhakrishna Holla, president of the Karnataka State Travel Owners’ Association, told The Indian Express.

“The industry was already struggling, but now many companies have announced layoffs, and transport dependency has reduced. We do not know how to navigate this unless the government comes to our rescue,” he added.

High-end hotels like The Oberoi, Hyatt, The Leela Palace, and Taj have also been affected. “We expected business travellers, but our premium suites are not getting bookings like before. It may not only be from Gulf countries but also from Europe. For Europeans, travel is taking longer because airspace in many West Asian countries is closed. It has discouraged travel,” an employee at a luxury hotel revealed.

In 2025, KIA’s passenger traffic stood at 43.82 million, with a daily average of 1.2 lakh. The airport also registered a 28.7 per cent year‑on‑year growth in international passenger traffic, which may decline this year due to the war.

However, BIAL has said that average footfall has not reduced by much.

Mangaluru International Airport operates about 32-43 flights daily, including domestic and international services. It ran around 44 international flights every week, mainly to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, alongside regular services to Bahrain, Dammam, Muscat, Doha, Jeddah, and Kuwait.

However, from February 28, 444 flights have been cancelled. Indigo flights accounted for 49 arrivals and 51 departures—a total of 100 international service cancellations. Air India Express saw 170 arrivals and 174 departures cancelled, a total of 344 flights. Currently, only flights to Jeddah and Abu Dhabi continue to operate from Mangaluru.