Air India Express will begin its international connectivity out of Northeast India with connecting flights from Guwahati to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in Aug 2026. Northeast, Gulf Airlinks Travelling between the Northeast that is better and faster The new services will be the first direct air link between the Northeast and the Gulf region.
New Guwahati Routes
The Guwahati–Dubai service will be started on 4 Aug 2023 and Guwahati–Abu Dhabi has been started by the airline on 7 aug you can book your tickets with cleartrip. Both services will be from the primary airport of Guwahati, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport.
Both routes will link the Northeast with two of the UAE’s key tourism, aviation and commercial centers. Travellers from Assam followed by other states would no longer be solely dependent on connecting flights via Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata or any other major Indian airports.
Flight Schedule
The announced schedule provides weekly services on separate days:
| Route | Starting date | Operating day | Departure from Guwahati | Arrival |
| Guwahati–Dubai | August 4, 2026 | Tuesday | 12:25 p.m. | 4:10 p.m. |
| Dubai–Guwahati | August 4, 2026 | Tuesday | 5:10 p.m. | 12:25 a.m. next day |
| Guwahati–Abu Dhabi | August 7, 2026 | Friday | 11:30 a.m. | 3:15 p.m. |
| Abu Dhabi–Guwahati | August 7, 2026 | Friday | 4:15 p.m. | 11:30 p.m. |
The flights are scheduled to operate once a week on their respective routes, although passengers should confirm timings and availability before booking because airline schedules can change.
First Direct Gulf Link
These are Air India Express’s inaugural international flights from Guwahati, and it is being billed as the first-ever direct air link between the Gulf and Northeast India. The airline is expected to provide easier access from the region for tourism, employment, education and business travel to West Asia.
India is a major source of tourists and workers to the territory they refer to as the Gulf. Reverse Air traffic: As many as 14 million Indian travellers travelled to the region in 2024 while an estimated nine million Indians lived and worked in Gulf countries fuelling large demand for Direct Air Services.
Benefits for Passengers
The new routes could significantly reduce travel time and simplify journeys for passengers from the Northeast. At present, many travellers heading to the UAE must take connecting flights through other Indian cities, adding hours to their trips and increasing the risk of missed connections or baggage delays.
Direct services are likely to benefit:
- Indian workers travelling to the UAE.
- Families visiting relatives in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
- Students and professionals relocating to the Gulf.
- Tourists from the Northeast visiting the UAE.
- Business travellers involved in trade and investment.
- Passengers travelling onward through Dubai or Abu Dhabi.
The new routes could also make international travel more accessible to residents of smaller cities in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, who can reach Guwahati by domestic flight, rail or road before continuing overseas.
Boost to Trade and Tourism
Increased air connectivity can help sustain the Northeast’s burgeoning tourism, agricultural, handicraft & regional trade sectors. Direct flights could smooth the path for exporters, entrepreneurs and business delegations to connect with firms in the UAE and other Gulf markets.
This common region is also famous for its tea, handloom items organic products, bamboo and cultural tourism. Access to international markets could make it easier for local companies to seek new customers and relationships, but the long-range effect will be tied to service frequency and fares, and freight availability.
The new routes provide an opportunity to tap into destinations like Kaziranga National Park, Shillong, Tawang, Majuli and the tea estates of Assam for tourism for visitors from the UAE. The packages might help travel operations in Guwahati and areas of Northeast, he articulated, demonstrating the potential and likelihood of nearby tourism administrator aggregations being plated.
Air India Express Expansion
At present, Air India Express operates nearly 120 weekly flights from the southeast Asian city. Airline operates more than 290 weekly flights in Northeast across Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Dimapur and Imphal.
Unlocking It Broader Connectivity Combined with the recent addition of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, I believe that will only strengthen the role of the airline in connecting this region to international markets. The Guwahati international airport is already connected to overseas destinations like Thailand, Singapore and Bhutan.
Competition and Connectivity
The introduction of these new services may pave the way for other airlines to look at direct international flights from Northeast India. More competition likely means more destinations, albeit with greater frequency but also fares that are more competitive at least in the short term.
But just like any new route, they will only be successful as long as there are enough passengers consistently wanting to fly them. Airlines typically evaluate seat load factors, seasonal travel trends, costs of operation, quality of airport infrastructure and the depth of local business and diaspora markets before adding more flights.
Based on the performance of the Guwahati–Dubai and Guwahati–Abu Dhabi routes, Air India Express may explore further Gulf ports in Doha, Muscat, Kuwait City or Sharjah in the future. International routes could develop to other Northeast airports as demand grows.
Booking Information
The new routes are now open for booking via the Air India Express website, mobile app and all leading online travel websites.
Before confirming their tickets, passengers should check the final fare, baggage allowance as well as visa requirements, airport rules and return-flight for availability. Entry requirements to UAE may differ per nationality, passport category and based on the objective of travel.
A Strategic Milestone
The new direct flights of Air India Express mark an important step for the aviation network in Northeast India. The airlines linking Guwahati with Dubai and Abu Dhabi will establish a faster link to the Gulf and develop new tourism, employment opportunities, trade and people-to-people co-operation.
Besides this launch, the initiative marks a larger turning point in Indian aviation where airlines now want to venture beyond the classical big metro hubs. If demand holds up, the new services may lay the groundwork for a much broader international network linking Northeast India to additional Asian and Middle Eastern markets.