Air India flight 901 from Delhi to Najaf in Iraq is getting regularly cancelled. Bookings are still open, but 11 March was the last time the flight flew to Najaf. In fact, the twice-a-week service has only operated six times since it was launched on 14 February.

AI 901 was flagged off with much fanfare from Lucknow (via Delhi) for Najaf, the holiest shrine for the Shia Muslims. It was a gift from Home Minister Rajnath Singh to the nearly 3 lakh Shia Muslims of his Lok Sabha constituency, Lucknow. Rajnath Singh, while launching the flight, had said that he would feel ashamed if people connect this to the elections. He called it an exercise in nation building. “I am trying to build this mulk (nation in Urdu),” said Singh.