Ukrainian airspace closed; Air India plane enroute to Kyiv called back

The Centre on Thursday said Indian passengers from Ukraine can return via Qatar, with aviation industry experts stating that civilian flights will restart from Ukraine only when its airspace opens. Currently 20,000 Indians, mostly students, are stranded in Ukraine.

Since the Ukrainian airspace is closed due to the Russian military offensive, it is currently not clear how they are to travel from Ukraine to Qatar to take Qatar-India flights, which are operating normally. The authorities of the eastern European country issued a NOTAM (notice to airmen) Thursday morning stating that civilian flights within Ukraine “are restricted due to potential hazard for civil aviation”.