Ethiopia Ash Cloud Reroutes India Gulf Flights

Volcanic ash from Ethiopia's Hayli Gubbi eruption is now pushing Ethiopia ash India flights to reroute across the Arabian Sea on November 25, 2025, with knock on delays at Mumbai and Delhi hubs. Travelers on India to Gulf, India to East Africa, and India to Europe routes are seeing longer flight times, westbound diversions, and scattered cancellations as ash intrudes on the busy Muscat Flight Information Region and northern India airspace. Anyone connecting through these corridors over the next one to two days should add buffer time, avoid tight self connections, and be ready for last minute aircraft swaps or schedule changes.

The Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia's Afar region erupted on November 23, 2025, sending ash plumes up to around 14 kilometers into the atmosphere after thousands of years of dormancy. Satellite and ground reports first documented impacts around the village of Afdera and across the Red Sea toward Yemen and Oman, then ash drifted east into the Muscat controlled corridor and onward toward India. The Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, VAAC Toulouse, has tracked the cloud across the Arabian Sea and into northern India, and its latest update notes the main ash mass moving toward China as Tokyo's VAAC takes over responsibility.

How The Ash Cloud Is Disrupting India Flight Corridors

India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, DGCA, issued an urgent operational advisory as volcanic ash activity over Oman and the Muscat Flight Information Region began to affect India bound and India originating routes. The regulator has told airlines to avoid affected regions and altitudes, adjust dispatch procedures and flight planning, and carry out post flight inspections for aircraft operating near the ash. Airports have also been instructed to be ready to suspend operations and inspect runways if ashfall is reported on the surface.

Indian media and airline statements indicate that at least 28 flights from Mumbai heading toward Muscat controlled airspace and beyond were rerouted in the last 24 hours, typically taking longer dogleg routes to skirt the ash. Air India has cancelled around 11 flights on Monday and Tuesday specifically to allow detailed checks on aircraft that may have flown near the plume, on top of broader schedule adjustments tied to the DGCA advisory. Low cost carrier Akasa Air has cancelled services to and from Jeddah, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi on November 24 and 25, and reports suggest that IndiGo, KLM, and other carriers have dropped or rerouted additional flights across northwest India.

At Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) in Delhi, at least seven international flights were cancelled and more than ten international departures or arrivals delayed between early morning and late afternoon on November 25 as the ash cloud moved overhead and airlines recalculated routes. Disruption so far is concentrated on westbound and northwest bound flights between India and hubs in the Gulf, Europe, and East Africa that normally cross the Muscat FIR and upper level tracks over the Arabian Sea, rather than on purely domestic flying.

How Long The Disruptions Are Likely To Last

The good news for travelers is that this wave of disruption is tied to a moving ash cloud, not an ongoing explosive phase of the volcano. VAAC Toulouse notes that eruptive activity decreased on November 24 and that the ash cloud over northern India is moving quickly toward China, with responsibility for further advisories now passing to VAAC Tokyo. The India Meteorological Department and related briefings suggest that the main ash mass will clear Indian airspace by roughly 200 p.m. GMT, around 730 p.m. local time, on November 25, and then continue eastward.

Even once the cloud has moved on, however, the operational effects will not end instantly. Airlines will still need time to reposition aircraft and crews, clear backlogs, and complete recommended engine and airframe inspections for jets that may have flown near ash, particularly at cruise altitudes between about 25,000 and 45,000 feet. Travelers should therefore expect a higher than usual risk of day of travel changes on November 25 and a residual risk of rolling delays and occasional cancellations into November 26, especially on India to Gulf and India to Europe departures.

Background, Why Volcanic Ash Is A Serious Flight Hazard

Volcanic ash is far more than simple dust. It consists of tiny rock and glass fragments that can sandblast aircraft exteriors, clog sensors, and, most critically, melt inside jet engines at high temperatures and then resolidify on turbine blades, potentially causing serious damage or engine failure. Because ash clouds can be difficult to see visually from the cockpit, international aviation relies on a network of nine Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers, VAACs, that model ash behavior from satellite and other data and issue advisories that regulators such as DGCA translate into route and altitude restrictions.

In this event, VAAC Toulouse confirmed the Hayli Gubbi eruption using satellite imagery and began issuing advisories as ash drifted across the Red Sea into Yemen and Oman, then across Muscat controlled airspace into India. As the plume migrates eastward, those duties are being handed off to VAAC Tokyo and regional regulators along the ash track. That handoff is normal and does not signal increased risk, but it does underscore that travelers on long haul routes across Asia, the Middle East, and potentially parts of China could see further tweaks to routings while ash persists at cruise levels.

Health, Air Quality, And Ground Level Conditions

For travelers in Indian cities, this is primarily an aviation story, not a respiratory emergency. India Meteorological Department commentary emphasized that the ash cloud is concentrated at flight levels, roughly 25,000 to 45,000 feet above the ground, and is therefore not expected to significantly worsen surface air quality or daily AQI readings in Delhi or other major cities. Some forecasters have even noted that people under the cloud might see slightly more colorful sunsets while the plume passes overhead.

Closer to the source, communities near Afdera in Ethiopia are dealing with ashfall on the ground, with pastures and structures coated in grey dust, and tourists in the Danakil region have faced temporary isolation as roads and flights were disrupted. Adept Traveler's earlier coverage of Ethiopia Volcano Ash Disrupts Danakil Tours And Flight Routes provides more detail on those local and regional impacts.

Practical Advice For Travelers On Affected Routes

For travelers flying from India to Gulf hubs such as Muscat, Dubai, Doha, Jeddah, or further on to Europe and East Africa over the next 24 to 48 hours, the biggest risk is schedule friction rather than outright route closures. Expect longer flight times on westbound services as aircraft loop around restricted airspace or change cruising altitudes to avoid ash. If you have a same day connection in a Gulf or European hub, aim for at least three hours between flights, more if separate tickets are involved.

Where airlines are proactively cancelling or consolidating services, as Air India and Akasa have done, take advantage of any rebooking waivers or free change options to move to flights after the main ash window or to routings that avoid the Muscat corridor. Keep your airline app notifications switched on, monitor email and SMS alerts, and, if you are already at the airport, confirm gate and routing information at the check in desk before proceeding through security.

Travelers planning new bookings for late November and early December on India to Gulf or India to Europe itineraries may want to favor itineraries with longer connections and a single ticket on one carrier or alliance, which simplifies protection if the Ethiopia ash India flights problem briefly resurfaces due to any renewed eruptive activity. As always with complex routings, avoiding separate self connect tickets, particularly through Mumbai and Delhi in the next couple of days, reduces misconnect risk and out of pocket costs if plans change at short notice.

This article follows Adept Traveler's Travel News structure and sourcing rules, including clear ledes, defined nut grafs, and a single hero image spec aligned to the disruption story. The visual guidance below matches the image policy for realistic airport disruption scenes.

Sources

• Volcano erupts in northern Ethiopia, sending ash plumes toward Yemen and Oman
• Ethiopian volcano erupts for first time in 12,000 years
• After 10,000 years of dormancy, Ethiopia's volcanic ash cloud eruption impacts India skies, 28 flights rerouted
• Hayli Gubbi volcano eruption activity update, Nov. 24, 2025
• VAAC Toulouse, volcanic ash advisory for Hayli Gubbi
• Volcanic ash plumes, carriers cancel flights; DGCA issues advisory
• DGCA issues advisory for volcanic ash activity over Oman
• DGCA asks airlines to avoid volcanic ash affected areas as Ethiopian volcanic ash reaches India
• Delhi airport sees flight cancellations, delays due to volcanic ash plumes impact
• Air India cancels flights amid volcanic ash; MoCA says no cause for concern
• Several flights cancelled across northwest India after volcanic ash from Ethiopia floats eastward
• Hayli Gubbi havoc, how volcanic ash from 4,000 km away pushed Indian airspace into turbulence
• Ethiopia volcano eruption LIVE updates, ash clouds likely to leave India by 7:30 pm
• Ethiopian volcano triggers flight disruptions as DGCA issues safety alert