Air India said on Tuesday it would resume flights to and from the east coast of the U.S. and Canada "at the earliest opportunity" after temporary airspace closures by several Middle Eastern nations forced airlines to cancel some routes.

"As airspaces gradually reopen in certain parts of the Middle East, Air India will progressively resume flights to the region starting Tuesday, with most operations to and from the Middle East resuming from Wednesday," an Air India spokesperson said in a statement.

"Flights to and from Europe, previously cancelled, are also being progressively reinstated from Tuesday."

Airlines scrambled to cancel flights and divert planes after nations such as Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait temporarily closed their airspaces in response to Iran's attack on the Al Udeid U.S. military base in Doha.

(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram Editing by Mark Potter)