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CBSE canceled board exams scheduled for March 2 in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE. New dates will be announced later.
Mission officials are in ‘constant and direct contact’ with thousands of Indian nationals stranded due to the rapidly deteriorating security situation. (Image: AFP)
Thousands of flights have been delayed or canceled as airlines suspended services to the Middle East in the biggest disruption to global air transport since the COVID-19 pandemic. US and Israeli attacks On Iran.
Meanwhile, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) canceled the board exams scheduled for Monday, March 2 in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It said that new dates will be announced later.
Passengers were left stranded at airports on both sides – origin and destination – following coordinated attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, which also killed passengers Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei On Saturday (28 February).
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Middle East airports closed, thousands of people stranded
Flights to the Middle East and beyond were disrupted as countries around the region closed their airspace and major airports connecting Europe, Africa and the West to Asia were directly affected by the strike.
Airports remained closed in the Middle East. Emirates Airlines suspended all flights to and from Dubai until noon. According to Qatar Airways, Qatar airports were closed until at least the morning of Monday, March 2.
Thousands of passengers are stranded across the world due to these closures. They were either stranded or diverted to other airports after Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain closed their airspace.
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said there was no flight activity in the UAE, as the government there had announced a “temporary and partial closure” of its airspace. This led to the closure of major airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha and the cancellation of more than 1,800 flights by major Middle Eastern airlines.
The three major airlines operating at those airports – Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad – typically have about 90,000 passengers per day passing through those hubs and even more bound for Middle East destinations, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
The incidents have been reported at two airports in the United Arab Emirates as the government there condemned what it called a “massive attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles.”
Officials at Dubai International Airport, the UAE’s largest and one of the world’s busiest airports, said four people were injured, while Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport said one person was killed and seven others were injured in the drone strike. A strike was also reported at Kuwait International Airport.
The situation is changing rapidly and airlines have urged passengers to check their flight status online before heading to the airport. Some airlines have issued waivers to affected passengers that will allow them to rebook their flight plans without paying additional fees or higher fares.
Turkish Airlines said flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan were suspended until Monday, March 2, and flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
According to FlightAware, at least 145 planes headed to cities such as Tel Aviv and Dubai were diverted to airports in cities such as Athens, Istanbul or Rome. Others turned around and returned to where they had taken off.
US-based Delta Airlines and United Airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv at least until the weekend. Dutch airline KLM had announced earlier in the week that it was suspending flights to and from Tel Aviv.
Airlines including Lufthansa, Air France, Transavia and Pegasus canceled all flights to Lebanon, while American Airlines suspended flights from Philadelphia to Doha. Virgin Atlantic said it would avoid flying over Iraq, meaning flights to and from India, the Maldives and Riyadh could take slightly longer. The airline was already not flying over Iran and had said all flights would carry adequate fuel in case it needed to divert at short notice.
British Airways said flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain would remain suspended until next week and flights to Amman, Jordan were cancelled.
Board exams canceled in Middle East
CBSE said Class 10 and 12 board exams in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, scheduled for Monday, March 2, have been canceled while new dates will be announced later.
CBSE controller of examinations Sanyam Bhardwaj said, “Due to the prevailing situation in parts of the Middle East – Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE, the board has decided to postpone the Class 10, 12 examinations on March 2.” He said new dates would be announced later.
Bhardwaj said the board will review the situation on March 3 and take a decision on the exams scheduled from March 5.
“The board will review the situation on March 3 and take an appropriate decision regarding the exams to be held from March 5,” he said.
100 international flights canceled from Delhi airport
India has designated much of the Middle East – including the skies over Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon – as a high security risk zone at all altitudes.
The two largest private carriers, IndiGo and Air India, suspended flights to all destinations in the Middle East. Air India canceled all flights to Middle East destinations.
At least 100 international flights were canceled at the international airport in Delhi on Sunday. At least 60 international departures and 40 arrivals have been cancelled.
“Due to the evolving political situation in the Middle East, there may be disruption or change in schedules of westbound international flights,” Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said in a post on Twitter.
Delhi International Airport is the largest airport in India, handling more than 1,300 flights daily. According to this, Indian airlines are expected to cancel 444 international flights due to airspace restrictions in the Middle East Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Indian industrialists, tourists stranded in Dubai
Former Madhya Pradesh MLA Sanjay Shukla, Vishal Patel and several Indian industrialists and tourists are stranded in Dubai due to disruption in air travel across the region.
Sanjay Shukla’s son Sagar Shukla spoke to his father on video call on Sunday and told about the tense situation. Sagar Shukla told the news agency, “We are in constant touch with his father. Till yesterday he was staying in Palm Jumeria, but when the attacks started there he changed the hotel… Now, there are explosions around this hotel too… The local government is sounding sirens and issuing alerts on mobile phones.” ANI.
Sanjay Shukla told on video call that he is accompanied by former MLA Vishal Patel, Kamal Nath’s former OSD Praveen Kakkar and many industrialists. Sagar urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to ensure the safe return of his father and others stranded in Dubai.
The situation has also affected tourists from Bellary, from where 35 people, who had set out on a trip to Dubai on February 24 and were scheduled to return on February 28, are now stranded. Ramalingappa, brother of tourist Nagabhushan, said the group was safe in Dubai. He said MLA Nara Bharat Reddy is also in the city and his close friends have been contacted.
India assures visa relief to foreign travelers
In view of mass flight cancellations, India asked foreign nationals in the country to contact the relevant authorities for visa extension.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued an advisory for foreign nationals affected by travel disruptions. It urged them to contact their nearest Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) if they require assistance in visa extension or regularizing their stay.
“All foreign nationals in India who have had to change their travel plans due to ongoing developments in the West Asia region and require assistance in extension of their visas or regularization of their stay are requested to contact the nearest Foreigners Regional Registration Office,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
It said the concerned FRROs would extend assistance, but it was not immediately clear how many foreign tourists were stranded in India due to flight cancellations. The airspace restrictions have disrupted hundreds of flights across the Middle East and other countries, including India.
Indian made tanker hit, conflict escalates
According to a report gulf newsThe Palau-flagged oil tanker ‘Skylight’ was targeted in waters off Musandam Governorate.
An official statement from Oman’s Maritime Safety Center said the ship was carrying 20 crew members, 15 of whom were on board. Indian citizen And five Iranians were killed about five nautical miles north of Khasab port. A coordinated response was immediately launched to ensure the safety of those on board.
“All 20 crew members were evacuated, including 15 Indian nationals and five Iranian nationals,” the center said. He said medical aid was provided to the affected people.
Omani officials have not yet shared additional details about the source of the attack or the extent of damage caused to the tanker.
Read this also Massive blast in Tehran targeting the ‘heart’ of the city, as Israeli military says
As the conflict escalated, Al Jazeera The report said Iran has launched coordinated attacks on US-linked targets in several Gulf Arab states. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that Israeli and US military facilities in the Middle East had been hit by “powerful Iranian missile attacks”, warning that operations would continue.
“This operation will continue without interruption until the enemy is decisively defeated,” the IRGC said. He said all US assets in the region are now considered legitimate targets.
IRGC The Strait of Hormuz was also closed, a vital waterway through which much of the world’s oil and gas passes. he said After launching the first wave of missile and drone attacks on Israel, they targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and other US bases in the Gulf.
(with agency input)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
March 01, 2026, 16:55 IST
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