The Iran-Israel conflict and the wider West Asia disruption, along with ongoing runway repair work at Sri Guru Ramdas Jee International Airport, Amritsar, have badly hit air traffic and passenger footfall, especially on the international side.The disruption is mainly linked to the suspension and reduction of Gulf routes as well as the daily runway closure impacting operations. As of early March 2026, multiple flights from Amritsar to Dubai and Sharjah were suspended or cancelled due to regional conflict and airspace restrictions in the Middle East.Amritsar had two daily direct flights to Dubai, operated by Air India Express and SpiceJet, and two daily direct flights to Sharjah, operated by Air India Express and IndiGo. These routes together carried a significant volume of Gulf-bound traffic.In addition, Qatar Airways’ Doha service, which normally provides an important international transit option from Amritsar, was also affected.As of April, Air India Express has resumed its daily Amritsar-Sharjah flight. Qatar Airways is operating only two flights a week, according to the status available on its website. Dubai flights remain suspended, while IndiGo’s Sharjah service also remains suspended.Passengers travelling to Dubai are facing the most direct difficulty because nonstop options remain suspended. Canada, US, and Europe-bound passengers are also indirectly affected, as Doha is a key one-stop hub. Reduced or disrupted Amritsar–Doha connectivity therefore hurts one-stop access from Punjab to Canada, the USA, and Europe, forcing some passengers to reroute via Delhi or other hubs. This has weakened one of Amritsar’s most important international transit links for passengers travelling beyond the Gulf.As per Amritsar Airport’s March 2026 passenger traffic data analysis, compiled by Sameep Singh Gumtala, convener of the FlyAmritsar Initiative, the airport handled only 48,330 international passengers in March 2026, down sharply from 88,380 in February 2026 and 111,628 in March 2025.Domestic traffic in March 2026 stood at 188,950, compared with 180,695 in February 2026 and 231,756 in March 2025. Total passenger traffic in March 2026 was 237,280, down from 269,075 in February 2026 and far below the 343,384 total passengers handled in March 2025. This shows that the biggest immediate impact of the conflict has been on Amritsar’s international traffic.Runway repair work at Amritsar Airport has also added to operational disruption. Since March 31, the runway has been closed daily from 1:45 pm to 9:45 pm, forcing several flights to be rescheduled. One major example is Scoot, whose Singapore flight has been shifted to the morning, with arrival around 9:05 am and departure around 10:45 am. As a result, some onward connections via Singapore to Australia, Southeast Asia, and other destinations have been affected.Some passengers travelling from Vancouver to Amritsar via Singapore on Air Canada and then Scoot have also been impacted and are being rerouted through Delhi. Domestic passengers from Amritsar connecting via Delhi or Mumbai to international flights on Air India, IndiGo, or partner airlines are also facing inconvenience, as many Amritsar departures now leave before 1:45 pm, leading to longer transit waits at connecting airports.The disruption has also had a financial impact. Since Amritsar Airport collects about Rs 1,171 as a User Development Fee (UDF) per departing international passenger, the steep fall in March international traffic likely hurt airport revenue as well. With a UDF of Rs 1,171 for international and Rs 516 for domestic passengers, the loss of over 63,000 international passengers in March alone translates into a multi-crore deficit for the airport authority.The yearly trend also shows the financial and traffic impact on the airport. During FY 2025-26, Amritsar Airport handled about 29.40 lakh passengers, including about 9.97 lakh international and 19.43 lakh domestic passengers.In FY 2024-25, the airport had handled about 35.43 lakh passengers. This means Amritsar saw an overall decline of about 6.02 lakh passengers in FY 20250-26. The fall in March 2026 international traffic, combined with earlier disruptions in the year, has therefore significantly weakened the airport’s annual passenger performance.