Iran Crisis Sparks Global Air Travel Chaos with Widespread Flight Cancellations
The escalating conflict in Iran has caused massive disruption to global air travel, forcing the closure of key Middle Eastern aviation hubs and stranding tens of thousands of passengers worldwide. Major airlines are cancelling flights to destinations across the region, including Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi, as safety concerns mount following drone strikes and heightened tensions.
Emirates Defies Disruption Despite Dubai Airport Attack
The biggest airline in the Gulf, Emirates, is resuming flights at scale despite its hub at Dubai International Airport being a target of an Iranian attack. Following fresh drone strikes in the UAE city, flights were briefly suspended on Saturday, with passengers taken into airport tunnels for safety. Dubai airport is normally the busiest global hub in the world.
Emirates stated it would continue to ramp up operations to and from Dubai, anticipating a swift return to normality. In a post on X, the carrier said: “The airline anticipates a return to 100 per cent of its network within the coming days, subject to airspace availability and the fulfilment of all operational requirements.”
Comprehensive List of Airline Cancellations Across the Region
Below is the latest on which airlines have cancelled flights to the Middle East, presented in alphabetical order with specific details on affected routes and timelines.
- Aegean Airlines: Greece's largest carrier cancelled flights to Tel Aviv until March 20 and flights to Beirut, Erbil, and Baghdad until March 25. Flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi are cancelled until March 19, and to Riyadh until March 14.
- airBaltic: Latvia's airBaltic said all flights to and from Tel Aviv are cancelled until March 28. All flights to and from Dubai are cancelled until March 16, plus a Dubai-Riga flight on March 17.
- Air Canada: The Canadian carrier cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until May 2 and all flights to Dubai until March 28.
- Air Europa: The Spanish airline has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until March 20.
- Air France KLM: Air France has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut through March 13 and to Dubai and Riyadh until March 12. KLM suspended flights to Dubai, Riyadh, and Dammam until March 10 and flights to Tel Aviv for the remainder of its winter season.
- Cathay Pacific: The Hong Kong airline cancelled all flights to and from Dubai and to and from Riyadh until March 31.
- Delta: The U.S. carrier has cancelled flights from New York to Tel Aviv until March 22 and from Tel Aviv to New York until March 23.
- EL AL Israel Airlines: EL AL and Sundor regular flights and corresponding return flights were cancelled until March 14.
- Ethiad Airways: The UAE carrier resumed a limited commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi and a number of key destinations.
- Finnair: The Finnish carrier has cancelled Doha and Dubai flights until March 29 and is avoiding the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Israel. However, the airline will send at least one flight to Muscat on March 10 to bring customers home and plans more later in the week.
- IAG: IAG-owned British Airways cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, Amman, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, and Doha until March 12, with a reduced schedule to Larnaca. BA107/106 Dubai flight is cancelled until March 14. It also plans flights for BA customers from Muscat from March 9-12. IAG's low-cost airline, Iberia Express, cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv through March 10.
- ITA Airways: ITA Airways has suspended flights to Tel Aviv until April and extended Dubai cancellations until March 15.
- Japan Airlines: Japan Airlines suspended Tokyo-Doha flights scheduled from February 28 to March 21 and Doha-Tokyo flights until March 22.
- LOT: The Polish airline said all flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai were cancelled until March 28. LOT also cancelled flights to Dubai until March 28, to Riyadh until March 16, and to Beirut from March 31 to April 30.
- Lufthansa Group: The German airline group, which includes Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Swiss, and Brussels Airlines, suspended flights to Tel Aviv through April 2 and to Beirut through March 28. Flights to Tehran were suspended through April 30 and to Amman, Erbil, Dammam, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi until March 15.
- Malaysia Airlines: The Malaysian carrier suspended all flights to and from Doha until March 13. It resumed normal operations to and from Jeddah and Madinah from March 8.
- Norwegian Air: The Nordic airline plans to fly to Tel Aviv and Beirut from June 15, instead of April 1 and April 4, respectively, as it had previously planned.
- Pegasus: Pegasus Airlines cancelled its Iran flights until March 28 and its Riyadh flights until March 10. Flights to Iraq, Amman, Beirut, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah are cancelled until March 23.
- Qatar Airways: The carrier operates a limited flight schedule to and from Doha, intending to operate some flights from March 9, following temporary authorisation from the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority.
- Saudia Airlines: The Saudi airline suspended its Amman, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Bahrain flights until March 10 and Moscow and Peshawar flights until March 15. The airline also started operating on a limited schedule to Dubai.
- Turkish Airlines: Turkish Airlines removed Iran flights from its programme until March 12, the Turkish transport minister said. He added that all Turkish Airlines flights to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan were cancelled through March 13.
- Wizz Air: The low-cost airline suspended flights to Israel until March 29 and to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Amman, and Jeddah from mainland European destinations until the middle of September.
Passenger Stranding and Operational Challenges
The Foreign Office no-go warning for Dubai has left British travellers “stranded in paradise,” highlighting the severe impact on passengers. Global air travel faces ongoing challenges as airlines navigate restricted airspace and security threats. Incidents such as passengers waiting amid flight disruptions at airports like Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali underscore the widespread nature of the crisis.
As the situation evolves, airlines are adjusting schedules and implementing contingency plans to repatriate customers and resume normal operations, but uncertainty remains high amid the ongoing conflict in Iran.
