British Airways has announced significant changes to its summer flight schedule, reducing services to the Middle East while expanding routes to India and Africa. The decision comes amid ongoing conflict in the region, which has disrupted air travel and affected thousands of bookings.
From July, the airline will limit flights to Dubai, Doha, and Tel Aviv to one daily service. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, will see its service reduced from two daily flights to one from mid-May. Additionally, Jeddah will be dropped as a destination permanently from the end of April.
In place of the reduced Middle East services, British Airways will add daily flights to Bengaluru, India, and Nairobi, Kenya. The airline will also increase capacity on its existing routes to Delhi and Hyderabad. These changes will remain in effect until October 24, with one Dubai service restarting on October 16.
A British Airways spokesperson said: 'Due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, we have made further changes to our flying schedule to provide greater clarity for our customers. We're keeping the situation under constant review and are directly in touch with affected customers to offer them a range of options.'
The airline had previously cancelled all flights to Dubai until summer, citing 'continued uncertainty' and 'airspace instability'. Travel to Amman, Bahrain, and Tel Aviv remains suspended until after May 31. The conflict, which escalated in late February, has led to widespread disruption across the region, affecting tens of thousands of reservations.
