Civil aviation ministry officials said though evacuation had not been initiated, such a process could be a problem now.

They added that in case of evacuation orders being issued, flights would have to be operated from Saudi Arabian cities like Dammam or Riyadh, which are at least four hours from Kuwait.

For this plan to work out, the Saudi Arabian government will have to open its border with Kuwait for Indians to come via road to Dammam or Riyadh.

The operation will also push up operating costs of Air-India. Operating an A-300 return flight from Mumbai to Dammam will cost Rs 39 lakh (Rs 3.9 million), while a similar operation on an A-320 will cost Rs 23 lakh (Rs 2.3 million).

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have said they will keep their international airports open and flights will operate as usual.

Air-India and Indian Airlines today operated four commercial flights from Kuwait, bringing back 1,200 Indians to Mumbai and Kochi.

Ministry officials said the flights were not part of the evacuation process. The Indian Airlines flight was re-routed from Muscat.

The national carriers operated two Airbus A-310s and two Boeing 747-200s for the special flights. The planes took off just before the Kuwait airspace was shut down.

Officials said the baggage of the passengers travelling in the Boeing aircraft was still stuck at the Kuwait airport.

Nearly 300,000 Indians reside in Kuwait. The evacuation plan, if put into action, will aim at getting 24,500 passengers out of the country every week.

According to the plan, Air-India will operate one Boeing B 747-400, one Boeing 747-Combi and two Airbus A 310s. Of this, Indian Airlines will operate 11 flights a day, while Air-India will ferry 11,000 passengers every week.