Surathkal: The protesters including the Toll Gate Virodhi Horata Samiti leaders who were protesting and demanding the removal of the Surathkal toll gate were detained by the police on Tuesday.

The protesters who pushed through the barricade erected by police, while trying to lay siege around the toll gate were stopped by the police. The leader of the Surathkal Toll Gate Horata Samiti Muneer Kaatipalla, former MLAs Ivan D’Souza, Shakuntala Shetty, J.R Lobo, Mohiuddin Bava, leaders Mithun Rai, Shashidhar Hegde, Pratibha Kulai, and B.K Imthiyaz including other protesters were detained by police. The detained leaders and protesters were taken away from the site in a vehicle, it is learned.

Ahead of these developments, vehicular traffic on the national highway experienced complete disarray. At present, the police have made way for smoother movement of vehicles.

In the background of the protests, thorough security arrangements have been set up under the leadership of Mangaluru City Police Commissioner N. Shashikumar.



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Mangaluru: Several flights operating to Gulf destinations from Mangaluru International Airport will remain cancelled on March 1 amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The cancellations follow the closure of multiple airspaces after strikes on Iran by Israel and the United States on Saturday. As a precautionary measure, Indian airlines have suspended services to several destinations in the Gulf region.

According to airport sources, the following Air India Express (IX) flights scheduled for March 1 and March 2 have been cancelled due to operational reasons:

IX845 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Jeddah

IX846 (March 1) – Jeddah–Mangaluru

IX817 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Muscat

IX818 (March 1) – Muscat–Mangaluru

IX831 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Dubai

IX832 (March 1) – Dubai–Mangaluru

IX813 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Dubai

IX814 (March 2) – Dubai–Mangaluru

IX841 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Bahrain

IX842 (March 2) – Bahrain–Mangaluru

IX815 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Abu Dhabi

IX816 (March 2) – Abu Dhabi–Mangaluru

Among these, the inaugural Mangaluru–Muscat service also stands cancelled.

IndiGo (6E) has also cancelled the following flights on March 1:

6E1468 (March 1) – Dubai–Mangaluru

6E1467 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Dubai

6E1438 (March 1) – Mangaluru–Abu Dhabi

Air India Express suspends flights to gulf sector till 1 March

Low-cost carrier Air India Express which operates a large network of flights connecting various Indian cities to the Middle East have announced suspended of all its flights until 23:59 hrs on 1 March 2026.

In a statement issued on Saturday evening, the airline said, “Air India Express flights to the Gulf region are suspended till 23:59 hrs on 1 March 2026. Guests are eligible for a free date change or cancellation for travel scheduled till 5 March 2026.”

Meanwhile other airlines also followed suit, Spice Jet, Indigo and Air India urged passengers to check flight status.

 

Budget carrier Akasa Air separately announced that it has suspended all operations to Gulf destinations until March 2, 2026.