Indian low cost carrier IndiGo has extended the suspension of flights to four key Central Asia and Caucasus destinations Tbilisi in Georgia, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Baku in Azerbaijan, and Tashkent in Uzbekistan until March 28, 2026, as regional airspace remains unsettled amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. The move lengthens what began as short term cancellations into a disruption spanning more than two months, with thousands of passengers now facing rebookings, refunds, and itinerary overhauls.
Latest Extension Takes Cancellations to Late March
IndiGo confirmed on Monday that services connecting India with Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku, and Tashkent will remain suspended through March 28, 2026, citing continued security concerns and operational challenges linked to developments around Iranian airspace. The airline described the extension as a necessary step to ensure the safety of customers and crew while regional tensions show few signs of a decisive resolution.
The decision follows a series of rolling advisories. Initially, IndiGo halted flights on select dates in late January as military and political rhetoric between Washington and Tehran intensified and airspace warnings began to proliferate. Those early cancellations were then widened and extended to cover all flights to the four destinations until February 28. With the latest announcement, the blackout on these routes now stretches a full month further into the busy spring shoulder season.
For travelers, the most important detail is that regular commercial service by IndiGo on these routes should not be expected to resume before March 29 at the earliest. While the airline has reiterated that its schedule remains under constant review, it is planning on the basis that Iranian airspace will not be reliably available for these sectors before the end of March, and that alternative routings are either impractical or uneconomical for its current fleet.
Airspace Fears Grow as US Iran Standoff Deepens
The extended cancellations are rooted in a sharp deterioration in security assessments of skies around Iran and parts of the wider West Asia region. Since January, a combination of military posturing, missile tests, and direct strikes involving Iran and US aligned forces has prompted aviation regulators and security agencies to warn of heightened risks to overflying civil aircraft.
Indian authorities and multiple international agencies have issued advisories to airlines about potential hazards from air defence systems, misidentification of civilian aircraft, and rapidly evolving military operations. In parallel, large parts of Iranian airspace have been temporarily closed or heavily restricted at different points, creating uncertainty for carriers that rely on those corridors for east west connectivity between India, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Europe, and the Americas.
For IndiGo, whose Airbus A320neo family aircraft operate many of these medium haul international sectors, the loss of direct routings over Iran is particularly constraining. Longer detours around the affected region can add significant flight time and fuel burn, eroding the economic viability of what are already relatively thin routes. The airline has experimented in the past with technical stops in Doha for some flights when Iranian airspace was restricted, but on the Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku, and Tashkent sectors it has now opted to suspend operations outright rather than adopt complex workarounds over an extended period.
What Passengers Booked to Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku, and Tashkent Should Expect
With the suspension now locked in until March 28, IndiGo customers holding tickets on any of the affected routes for travel through that date should expect their original flights to be cancelled. The airline has reiterated that impacted passengers are eligible either for rebooking on alternative dates or for a full refund, depending on preference and seat availability once services resume.
Travelers whose plans cannot be shifted into April are likely to find that refunds and new bookings on other carriers are the only realistic options. While a handful of regional and European airlines continue to operate to Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku, and Tashkent using alternate routings, capacity remains limited and fares have already risen on some city pairs as a result of the disruption. Passengers planning complex itineraries involving onward connections in these cities should give themselves extra time to identify viable alternatives and, where necessary, adjust hotel reservations, visa appointments, and tour arrangements.
IndiGo is advising customers to monitor their booking status through its official channels and to ensure that their contact details are updated so that schedule changes and cancellation notices reach them promptly. For those with near term departures in late February and March, contacting the airline or the issuing travel agency as soon as possible can help secure earlier access to refunds or to the first wave of available seats after the suspension period ends.
Impact on India’s Emerging Central Asia and Caucasus Network
The grounding of services to Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku, and Tashkent marks a setback for IndiGo’s broader strategy in Central Asia and the Caucasus, a region where the carrier has expanded aggressively over the past two years. These routes have been promoted heavily to Indian leisure travelers, business passengers, and transit flyers seeking relatively short flight times to new destinations beyond the traditional Gulf and Southeast Asian hubs.
Almaty and Tashkent have been positioned as gateways to Central Asia, with strong appeal for adventure tourism, winter sports, and growing trade links. Tbilisi has emerged as a popular short break option for Indian visitors attracted by Georgia’s visa policies, wine tourism, and relatively affordable prices. Baku, meanwhile, has become a fixture on the itineraries of both business travelers and conference groups, supported by Azerbaijan’s push to draw more visitors from South Asia.
By suspending all flights to these four cities, IndiGo temporarily loses nonstop access to what had become important niche markets. Industry analysts note that while the airline can restore these routes relatively quickly once airspace conditions stabilize, any prolonged absence risks ceding ground to regional competitors. Carriers from the Gulf, Turkey, and Central Asia itself may seek to capture more Indian traffic via their hubs, adjusting schedules or boosting marketing to fill the gap left by IndiGo’s absence.
Ripple Effects Across India’s Wider International Network
The Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku, and Tashkent suspensions do not exist in isolation. They form part of a wider pattern of disruptions affecting Indian carriers as they navigate a patchwork of airspace closures and risk advisories triggered by US Iran tensions. Air India has already cancelled or rerouted certain flights to the United States and Europe, while some IndiGo services to Europe, Turkey, and parts of the Commonwealth of Independent States have faced delays, added fuel stops, or time consuming detours around restricted areas.
Operationally, the challenge lies in reconfiguring flight plans for dozens of long and medium haul routes that typically cross Iranian skies. Avoiding these paths can mean flying via Iraq, the Arabian Sea, or more northerly corridors, each of which carries its own constraints in terms of air traffic congestion, available alternates, and refuelling options. For airlines operating narrow body aircraft with tighter range margins, many of these workarounds are not always feasible without sacrificing payload or frequency.
The result has been a rolling pattern of operational changes across the India West Asia and India Europe markets. Schedules that had only just stabilized after previous rounds of regional turbulence have once again become fluid, and passengers are being warned to expect extended flight times, last minute gate changes, and occasional cancellations. IndiGo’s decision to remove four of its more exposed routes from the timetable until late March is one way of insulating the broader network from daily volatility, at the cost of temporarily abandoning certain markets.
Safety Imperatives and the Shadow of Past Airspace Incidents
Behind the scheduling decisions lies a hard learned lesson from earlier aviation tragedies in conflict zones. Incidents such as the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine and the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 shortly after take off from Tehran heavily shaped current thinking on the risks of flying over or near active conflict areas. Regulators and airlines alike have become more cautious about routing traffic through contested airspace even in the absence of explicit, binding closures.
In the present environment, where US Iran tensions have produced both direct military exchanges and heightened rhetoric, the possibility of miscalculation or misidentification of civilian aircraft is being taken seriously. Advisory notices from agencies in Europe, North America, and the wider region have urged operators to carefully weigh the risks of flights traversing Iranian skies, particularly at cruising altitudes where military assets might be on alert. For IndiGo and other Indian carriers, this has meant not only avoiding certain airways but ending or reducing services that are structurally dependent on those routes.
From a public communication standpoint, IndiGo has repeatedly emphasized that safety remains its paramount priority, above commercial considerations or competitive pressures. While the airline has not shared granular details of the security assessments that led to the March 28 extension, its messaging aligns with that of other carriers and regulators who stress that temporary inconvenience is preferable to even marginally elevated safety risks.
Travel Planning Advice for the Weeks Ahead
For travelers planning trips between India and the four affected cities between now and March 28, the key recommendation is to build flexibility into their arrangements. Where travel is discretionary, postponing journeys until after the suspension period or considering alternative destinations that are not affected by airspace restrictions may be the least stressful option. Demand for flights on unaffected routes is likely to remain strong, and prices could edge higher on some dates as displaced passengers search for substitutes.
Those who must travel to Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, or Uzbekistan in the coming weeks may need to consider multi leg itineraries via major hubs in the Gulf, Europe, or Central Asia. That will often mean longer travel times and higher costs. It also introduces additional variables such as transit visa requirements, minimum connection times, and the risk of missed onward flights if one segment is delayed by shifting routings or congestion.
Travelers should stay in close contact with their airline or travel agent, reconfirm flight status a day or two before departure, and keep a close eye on government travel advisories. Given the geopolitical backdrop, conditions could tighten further or improve faster than currently anticipated, and airlines may respond with fresh schedule changes. Purchasing comprehensive travel insurance that covers disruption due to airspace closures or security incidents can also provide a degree of financial protection in a rapidly evolving situation.
What to Watch as March 28 Approaches
Looking ahead, the next inflection point for IndiGo’s Central Asia and Caucasus operations will come as March 28 draws near. By that stage, either the airline will feel confident enough about the stability of the regional airspace to reopen bookings and publish a revised schedule, or it may announce yet another extension or a more structural reshaping of these routes. Much will depend on whether ongoing US Iran tensions move toward a negotiated cooling or toward a more entrenched standoff.
Industry observers will be watching not only official statements from IndiGo, but also any changes in the tone of advisories from international aviation safety bodies and national regulators. A clear relaxation of warnings about Iranian airspace would make it easier for airlines to restore their previous routings. Conversely, any further escalation on the ground or in the air could prompt wider suspensions beyond the four destinations currently affected.
For now, travelers can expect a cautious, step by step approach. IndiGo and its peers are likely to prioritize the gradual restoration of their most commercially critical routes first, while secondary or niche markets may continue to face intermittent disruptions. As one of the highest profile carriers in India’s outbound travel boom, IndiGo’s decisions on Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku, and Tashkent will serve as a bellwether for how airlines balance growth ambitions in new markets with the hard constraints imposed by geopolitics and airspace safety.