Air India Express to restore Mangaluru-Muscat direct flights from March 2026

Air India Express will restore direct flight connectivity between Mangaluru and Muscat from March 2026 with two flights per week. The flights will be operated on every Sunday and Tuesday, sources said.

Accordingly, the first flight from Mangaluru to Muscat (IX 817) will operate on March 1, 2026, with the return flight from Muscat to Mangaluru (IX 818) returning the same day. The second flight is scheduled on March 3, and the subsequent flights on March 8, 10, 15, 17, 22 and on March 24, 2026, respectively.

IX 817 will depart from Mangaluru at 9.25 a.m. and reach Muscat at 11.30 a.m. (Muscat local time). The flying hours is 3.35 hours.

IX 818 will depart from Muscat at 12.30 p.m. (Muscat local time) and arrive in Mangaluru at 5.25 p.m. The flying hours is 3.25 hours.

Air India Express last operated from Mangaluru to Muscat on July 15, 2025, in the summer schedule (of airlines) of 2025 with four flights a week, before suspending services.

Sources said that the summer schedule of airlines of 2026 will start on March 29, 2026. Later flight timings and schedules of flights operating to and from Mangaluru will change.

After the airlines suspended its flights between the two cities, Capt. Brijesh Chowta, MP for Dakshina Kannada, and Kota Srinivas Poojary, MP for Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, wrote to Union Minister for Civil Aviation K. Ram Mohan Naidu to intervene and to do the needful to reinstate the service.

In his October 8, 2025, letter to the Minister, Mr. Poojary said that he had received a representation from the Karnataka Janapada Parishath, Muscat, Oman Chapter, expressing deep concern over the suspension of the flight services. It has caused considerable inconvenience to passengers, particularly senior citizens, students, and working professionals from Mangaluru, Udupi, Kasaragod (Kerala), and nearby regions.

In his September 18, 2025, letter to the Minister, Capt. Chowta said, “…Close to 50,000 expatriates from the Coastal Karnataka region work in Oman, engaged in both skilled and unskilled jobs. The Mangaluru-Muscat route has served as a vital and uninterrupted lifeline, enabling them to travel directly to their homeland without the additional financial and physical burden of transiting through Bengaluru, Kannur, or Mumbai airports…”

“…Its abrupt suspension, without prior consultation or proper explanation, has left many families in distress…,” Capt. Chowta said.