Indian Pilots' Association Urges Civil Aviation Ministry & DGCA To Immediately Suspend Flights To UAE & Gulf Countries Amid Threat From West Asia War

The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA India) has urged the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to immediately ground all commercial flight operations by Indian carriers to the United Arab Emirates and other high-risk Gulf destinations.

Security Crisis Warning

In a letter sent on Monday, ALPA India -- a member association of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) -- warned regulators that a rapidly deteriorating security environment in the Middle East poses a severe threat to passenger and crew safety. The letter, written by ALPA India president Capt. Sam Thomas highlighted that the security situation across the Persian Gulf has reached a critical juncture. The pilot body cited recent reports of explicit security threats directly targeting major regional transit hubs, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as the primary trigger for their intervention.

The association cautioned that operating commercial airliners into active conflict zones exposes crews and passengers to a host of complex, unpredictable hazards, such as widespread GPS spoofing and jamming, which disrupt precision navigation systems. It added that there is an increased probability of missile engagements or visual misidentification by military forces, dynamic restrictions that can leave commercial jets stranded, while flight crews operating in such geographies have limited real-time tactical intelligence available.

GPS Jamming, Missile Fears

"The consequences of a misjudgement in such an environment are potentially catastrophic," Capt. Thomas wrote, stressing that preventive regulatory intervention must take precedence over reactive measures. ALPA India has requested an immediate temporary suspension of flights until national security agencies, intelligence authorities, and aviation safety experts conduct an independent, comprehensive threat assessment.

To safeguard flight crews and the traveling public, the pilot body stipulated five strict conditions before any resumption of commercial flights into the region should be permitted. It demanded an independent security evaluation of airspace risks, demonstrated mitigation measures, operational risk assessments, protection to pilots against commercial pressure and a comprehensive hull and third-party liability insurance coverage.

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