Budget carrier Air India Express is expanding its India-Middle East operations as part of its winter 2026 schedule, with up to 135 daily departures to the region.

The airline is adding flight frequencies from key hubs and focus cities, including Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Kozhikode and Hyderabad.

The expansion covers several major India-Middle East routes, with additional services to destinations including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh, Doha, Muscat, Kuwait City and Al Ain.

Under the expanded schedule, Air India Express will connect 23 Indian cities with 12 gateways across Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE through 88 non-stop city-pair routes.

The Middle East remains the largest component of the airline’s international network. Overall, Air India Express will operate up to 150 daily international departures to 99 destinations worldwide during the winter schedule.

The airline said the expanded services will provide greater connectivity and choice for passengers travelling for work, family visits and leisure.

The Middle East is home to a large overseas Indian community, with more than four million Indian citizens living and working in the UAE alone.

Air India Express is also deploying retrofitted aircraft on several Middle East routes as part of its fleet modernisation programme.

The Middle East expansion forms part of the airline’s largest-ever winter schedule, which will run until March 27, 2027. The carrier is also increasing capacity at its Bengaluru and Delhi hubs, launching new domestic routes and deploying retrofitted aircraft across its network.