Dubai continues to be the top international destination to and from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) despite the ongoing crisis in West Asia.
The KIA, among other airports in the country, reported cancellations of flights, especially to destinations in the West Asia region, in the wake of the conflict that erupted on February 28.
During the initial days of the conflict, a large number of flights were cancelled or rescheduled to the region.
Despite this, Dubai was the most popular destination to and from Bengaluru, as 2.02 lakh passengers travelled during the first three months of 2026.
Singapore was the second most popular international destination, with 1.39 lakh passengers, followed by Abu Dhabi with 1.33 lakh passengers.
The KIA operates direct flights to 11 destinations in West Asia which are: Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Musat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah.
Due to the conflict, the number of passengers travelling to and from Bengaluru to these destinations had reduced.
According to the DGCA’s city pair wise international passenger statistics (scheduled) to and from the Indian territory during the quarter January-March 2026, all the above destinations saw a drop in passengers when compared to the quarter October-December 2025 data.
During January-March 2026, as many as 6.15 lakh passengers travelled to these destinations as against 7.72 lakh passengers in October-December 2025 seeing a drop of 1.56 lakh passengers.
During the October-December 2025 period, as many as 2.34 lakh passengers travelled to Dubai as against 2.02 lakh in January-March 2026.
Abu Dhabi is the second most popular destination in the region which saw 1.77 lakh passengers travelling to and from Bengaluru during October-December 2025 compared to 1.33 lakh passengers in the first quarter of 2026.
Ras Al Khaimah, which is another city in the UAE, saw the least number of passenger movement among the 11 airports which have direct connectivity to Bengaluru.
During the first quarter of 2026, 731 passengers between the two cities compared to 9,728 passengers in the last quarter of 2025.
The KIA officials said that flight services have been restored to all destinations in the region.
Published - May 22, 2026 10:22 pm IST
Source: The Hindu - India News
