UAE airlines have continued to delay and cancel flights as tension between Israel and Iran continues to intensify.
Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv has shut down until further notice, Iran has declared its airspace closed and Iraq has temporarily suspended civilian operations at all its airports.
Etihad Airways
The UAE's national carrier, cancelled its services to and from Tel Aviv until June 22, as Israel placed its air defence systems on high alert in anticipation of possible retaliation.
The airline's flights to Amman in Jordan have also been suspended until June 20.
“Etihad continues to experience disruption to several services due to airspace closures and the ongoing regional situation,” Etihad's duty media officer told The National in a statement on Saturday.
Flights between Abu Dhabi and Amman are cancelled until Tuesday, while Abu Dhabi and Beirut have resumed flights as normal.
The Abu Dhabi airline is helping passengers whose plans have been disrupted with alternative travel arrangements.
Emirates
Other major airlines, including Emirates, Lufthansa and Air India, rerouted services mid-flight on Friday. An Emirates flight from Manchester was diverted to Istanbul, while an Air India flight from New York to Delhi was diverted to Sharjah.
In a statement issued to The National, Emirates said it had cancelled and rerouted some flights. The airline said it is “monitoring the situation and making all efforts to ensure minimal disruption”.
All Emirates flights to Amman in Jordan and Beirut in Lebanon have been temporarily suspended until June 22.
Meanwhile all Emirates flights to Tehran in Iran and Baghdad and Basra in Iraq have been suspended until June 30.
Customers connecting through Dubai with final destinations in Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon; and customers with onwards flydubai connections will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin until further notice, Emirates said.
The airline also urged customers departing from or arriving at Dubai International Airport to check their flight status on emirates.com for the latest information.
Flydubai
Flydubai, too, confirmed several of its flights have been impacted due to the temporary closure of airspace over Iran and Israel in the early hours of Friday.
On Tuesday, the Dubai carrier said it would cancel all flights to and from Iran, Iraq, Israel and Syria until June 30.
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi announced it has suspended all flights to and from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport and European flights to and from Queen Alia International Airport in Amman until September 15. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s operations between Abu Dhabi and Amman are scheduled to resume on Friday.
"Due to the evolving situation in the region and the closure of multiple airspaces, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, similar to other airlines, has had to cancel several flights today that were scheduled to overfly the affected areas and could not be rerouted," the airline said on Saturday.
The carrier said it will offer free rebooking to affected customers or a full refund in Wizz credits or in the original form of payment.
Air Arabia
On Monday, Sharjah's Air Arabia updated its list of temporarily cancelled flights, including Lebanon until June 17, Jordan and Russia until June 20 and Iran and Iraq until June 30.
Passengers connecting through Sharjah or Abu Dhabi with final destinations in any of the above flights will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin until further update, the airline said.
Changes to regional flights
On Friday, Qatar Airways announced it has temporarily halted flights to Iran and Iraq.
The affected airports in Iran include:
- Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA)
- Mashhad International Airport (MHD)
- Shiraz International Airport (SYZ)
The affected airports in Iraq include:
- Baghdad International Airport (BGW)
- Erbil International Airport (EBL)
- Basra International Airport (BSR)
- Sulaymaniyah International Airport (ISU)
- Najaf International Airport (NJF)
Oman Air cancelled its Muscat-Amman (WY 411) and Amman-Muscat (WY 412) flights on Monday but resumed normal flight operations on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Kuwait Airways announced that there would be a temporary adjustment in its flight schedules until July 15. It added that this might include changes to some flight routes and an increase in travel duration. They also reminded passengers to check the updated schedule on their website or mobile app to stay up to date.
On Sunday, Syrian Airlines suspended all of its flights due to security tensions in the region and the closure of airspace to air traffic.
On Monday, the general authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport announced the temporary closure of Syrian airspace to civil aviation traffic until 5am on Tuesday.
The airlines said in a statement on Saturday evening that the suspension of flights will continue until further notice, out of concern for the safety of passengers and flight crews, and in coordination with the relevant civil aviation authorities.
Royal Jordanian Airlines announced on its website that passengers scheduled to travel between June 13 and 22, can make one free change without collecting penalties or fare difference, reroute to an alternative destination in the same region, or transit via Amman with other carriers if available.
They can also request a non-refundable travel voucher valid for one year for the unused ticket amount, while refunds follow standard ticket rules; all changes must be made for travel on or before July 15.
The carrier added that flights previously diverted from Jordan have resumed their routes to the country following the decision to reopen the kingdom's airspace.
How international airlines in US and Europe are responding
Several other airlines around the world are also reacting to the rising tension in the region.
Low-cost Irish carrier Ryanair – which cancelled flights to Tel Aviv in May – said it has extended the suspension of services to and from Tel Aviv until August 31. It also added that it is cancelling flights to Amman until July 11.
US carrier Delta Airlines stated that travel to, from, or through Tel Aviv, might be impacted between Thursday and August 31. United Airlines has also currently suspended flights to Tel Aviv until July 31.
Air-France has suspended services to and from Tel Aviv until further notice, while Dutch carrier KLM has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until at least July 1, according to ANP News.
Low-cost carrier Wizz Air said it had cancelled several flights scheduled to fly over areas affected by regional tension in the Middle East.
Greece's Aegean Airlines cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv scheduled for Friday.
Latvia's airBaltic said all of its flights to and from Tel Aviv until June 23 have been cancelled. El Al Israel Airlines said that it had suspended flights to and from Israel.
Russia's Aeroflot cancelled flights between Moscow and Tehran and made changes to other routes in the Middle East.
Air India said several of its flights are either being diverted or returning to their origin.
Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet cancelled flights to Iran, Iraq and Jordan until Monday morning, an company source told Reuters.
The source added that AJet will operate services to Lebanon only during daylight hours. It plans to operate flights to other destinations in the Middle East.
Lufthansa said it was suspending Tel Aviv and Tehran service until July 31 and flights to Jordan and Lebanon until at least June 20.
Romanian flag carrier Tarom suspended all commercial flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut and Amman until Monday.
