WEST Indies senior men’s team have been forced to delay their departure from India due to “security threats posed by military action in the Gulf region”, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced on Monday.

The Caribbean men were due to leave India after their exit from the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup, but the outbreak of war in the Middle East resulted in international airspace restrictions.

“These restrictions are a direct result of the security threats posed by military action in the Gulf region, which has impacted several international flight routes and required airlines to adjust scheduled services for safety reasons,” CWI said in a statement.

Cricket’s governing body in the Caribbean said it was working closely with the ICC, relevant governmental authorities, and airline partners to secure the earliest possible safe travel arrangements for the squad and support staff.

“The safety and well-being of our players, coaches, and officials remain our highest priority,” CWI said, adding that, “The team is currently accommodated in India and remains safe and well.”

It also said it would continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates as confirmed travel arrangements are finalised.

Tournament organisers have been exploring alternative routes to get teams home as they finish their campaigns at the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

The ICC, in a statement on Saturday, said it had been monitoring the “evolving situation” and had “activated comprehensive contingency plans to safeguard the travel, logistics and well-being of all stakeholders” at the 2026 T20 World Cup.

“While the crisis in the Middle East has no direct bearing on the conduct of the tournament, the ICC acknowledges that a significant number of personnel — including players, team management, match officials, broadcast teams, and event staff — rely on Gulf hub airports, particularly Dubai, as key transit points for onward travel to their home countries upon concluding their commitments at the event,” the ICC said.

It added that its travel and logistics team “is actively working with major international carriers to identify and secure alternative routing options, including connections through European, South Asian, and South-East Asian hubs.

“The ICC security consultants are liaising with relevant authorities and will provide real-time advisories as the situation develops. A dedicated ICC Travel Support Desk has also been activated,” the tournament organisers said.

Since the United States and Israel launched military air strikes against Iran on Saturday, fighting has spread across the Middle East as Iran responded with retaliatory strikes in the region.

Air routes have been closed, airports damaged, and hundreds of thousands of passengers left stranded.

Dubai International Airport, Kuwait’s main airport, and a British military airbase in Cyprus were hit during Iran’s response.

Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates all announced at least partial closures of their skies.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Monday called on all sides to refrain from targeting civilian aircraft and airports.

For commercial airlines, the conflict raised memories of disasters such as that of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, destroyed by a missile over Ukraine in 2014 with 298 people killed, or the Ukrainian Boeing accidentally shot down by Iran in 2020, killing 176.

“It is critical that states respect their obligation to keep civilians and civil aviation free from harm,” said the head of IATA, Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association.

“We all hope for an early, peaceful resolution to the current hostilities.”

Dubai’s airports announced they would resume limited flights on Monday evening but Air France said it was extending its suspension of flights to that and three other airports until March 5.

According to the aeronautical data provider Cirium, at least 1,560 inbound flights to the Middle East out of 3,779 were cancelled on Monday.

On Sunday, 2,000 cancellations were recorded out of 4,000 flights, representing about 900,000 aircraft seats.