TORONTO — Air Canada is adding capacity to its India routes in an effort to get more Canadians home, as the early days of the war in the Middle East stretch on.

From March 7 to March 21, Air Canada will add an extra frequency for double-daily Toronto-Delhi service. The airline will also use larger aircraft on select Toronto-London-Mumbai flights “to provide routing options,” says Air Canada.

There’s an update from Emirates as well, which normally serves YYZ and YUL to Dubai. Originally suspending all scheduled Emirates flights to and from Dubai until 11:59 p.m. UAE time on March 4, Emirates has moved that target to 11:59 p.m. UAE time on March 7. In the meantime Emirates continues to operate a limited flight schedule.

Etihad Airways’ latest update shows that its scheduled commercial flights from Abu Dhabi remain suspended until at least 6 a.m. UAE time on March 6. A limited number of repositioning and repatriation flights are operating.

EVACUATIONS & REPATRIATIONS

As reported yesterday Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said she has asked Oman for use of its airspace “if necessary, for Canadian citizens to get out” of the Middle East. However Anand’s office says the minister is urging Canadians to leave the region by their own means, and that there is no current plan for Ottawa to co-ordinate evacuations.

Global Affairs Canada says more than 97,000 Canadians have registered as being in the Middle East.

Countries including China, Italy, France and Germany have moved to organize evacuation efforts for their citizens.

EXORBITANT CHARTER FLIGHTS

There are reports of some people paying up to 200,000 euros (US$232,000) for charter flights out of the region, to gateways in Europe.

Elie Hanna, CEO for the Middle East headquarters of Air Charter Service, based in Dubai, said most of the flights out of the region are leaving from Oman. The prices are so high, he said, because few charter planes are available since most of them are stuck at airports that are now closed.

The clients he is seeing range from people who regularly charter private, as well as people who generally fly commercial but are trying to pool resources with other travellers or families to share the expense.

“Everyone is stressed,” Hanna said. “To be honest, everyone is trying to accommodate as much as they can. Muscat Airport is overloaded with flights and everybody is stressed.”

HIGHER OPERATING COSTS & AIRFARES

Flights scheduled in the coming days and weeks could continue to see disruptions — causing ripple effects globally, especially as the war widens with retaliatory strikes in the Gulf states, home to major air travel hubs like Dubai.

Carriers cancelling flights or shift to longer routes is straining operating costs and ticket prices, both of which could become more expensive if airlines have to pay more for fuel the longer the war drags on.

It’s industry standard for carriers to pay “overflight fees” when flying through other countries’ airspace — which there could be more of now, said Hassan Shahidi, president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation. And, of course, longer flights need more fuel.

“Those costs will be passed on to the passengers,” explained Bryan Terry, managing director at Alton Aviation Consultancy. If the conflict continues, he said, travellers should “anticipate that some carriers will likely impose fuel surcharges” or increase existing fees.

The costs of those longer routes — paired with oil prices that have already spiked since the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks — could trickle down to consumers further ahead. The price of crude oil is a key component for jet fuel, which accounted for about 30% of airlines’ operating costs as of 2024, according to research from IATA.

With file from The Associated Press

Lead image caption: Light traffic moves along a main road in downtown Dubai, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)