Global air travel faces severe disruption, with conflict in Iran forcing the closure of key Middle Eastern hubs like Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi, stranding thousands.
Adding to the strain on airlines, jet fuel prices have doubled since the conflict began, intensifying pressure on carriers already contending with restricted airspace as pilots reroute to bypass the volatile Middle East.
British Airways is among the airlines to announce a suspension of their operations across the wider Middle East.
Daily flights from Muscat to London Heathrow have been running since 5 March, primarily to assist tourists stranded in neighbouring countries due to regional conflict. These services will “pause” after Thursday’s departure.
The airline also confirmed the continued suspension of its broader Middle East schedule. A spokesperson said: “Due to the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and air space instability, we’ve had to temporarily reduce our flying schedule in the region.”
Below is the latest on which airlines have cancelled flights to the region, in alphabetical order:
Aegean Airlines
Greece’s largest carrier cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Erbil and Baghdad until March 29. Flights to Dubai are cancelled until March 28 and to Riyadh until March 14.
airBaltic
Latvia’s airBaltic said all flights to Tel Aviv had been cancelled until March 28. All flights to Dubai have been cancelled until March 30.
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
Air France has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut through March 15 and to Dubai and Riyadh until March 14.
British Airways
British Airways announced it will stop running rescue flights from the Middle East because of “reduced demand”, and has extended its suspension of operations in the rest of the region.
The airline has been running daily flights from Muscat in Oman to London’s Heathrow Airport since March 5. But it said it will “pause” the flights after Thursday’s departure.
BA does not usually serve Muscat, but the capital emerged as a key location for tourists stranded in neighbouring countries because of the conflict.
BA also announced that the suspension of its flights to the rest of the Middle East will continue.
It said: “Due to the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and air space instability, we’ve had to temporarily reduce our flying schedule in the region.
“We’ve cancelled all flights to and from Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv until later this month and to and from Abu Dhabi until later this year.
“We’re keeping the situation under constant review and are in touch with our customers to offer them a range of options.”
Cathay Pacific
The Hong Kong airline said it had 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 31 and from Tel Aviv to New York until April 1.
EL AL Israel Airlines
El AL and Sundor regular flights and corresponding return flights were cancelled until March 14.
Emirates
The UAE airline said it was operating a reduced flight schedule.
But the carrier said in a post on X that it expects a swift return to normality, saying: “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.
Ethiad Airways
The UAE carrier said it 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 all flights to Abu Dhabi until later this year and all flights to Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv until later in March.
ITA Airways
ITA Airways has suspended flights to Tel Aviv until April 2 and extended Dubai cancellations until March 28.
Japan Airlines
Japan Airlines suspended Tokyo-Doha flights scheduled from February 28 to March 21 and Doha-Tokyo flights until March 22.
KLM
KLM said flights to Riyadh and Dammam were suspended until March 14, flights to Dubai until March 28 and flights to Tel Aviv were suspended for the remainder of its winter season.
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, to Beirut and Dubai through March 28. Flights to Tehran were suspended through April 30 and to Amman, Erbil, Dammam and Abu Dhabi until March 15.
Malaysia Airlines
The Malaysian carrier suspended all flights to Doha until March 20.
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. 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 12 and Moscow and Peshawar flights until March 16.
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 until 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.
