Markets 
Now entering its fourth week, the war in Iran continues to send shockwaves through global aviation, with widespread disruption to flight schedules and airspace across the Middle East and Gulf.
European airline groups including Lufthansa and Air France have extended suspensions on key routes, citing ongoing security risks and restricted airspace.
Airlines are being forced to reroute or cancel services entirely, while capacity remains well below normal levels across the region.
As instability persists, the aviation sector faces rising fuel costs, longer flight times and continued uncertainty heading into the busy spring and summer travel seasons.
Lufthansa and Air France issue updates
Lufthansa Group – which includes Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, Edelweiss, and Lufthansa Cargo – has suspended all flights to and from Dubai and Tel Aviv until 31 May, with the exception of Lufthansa Cargo which will suspend flights to Tel Aviv until 30 April. The group will also suspend flights until 24 October to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Dammam, Riyadh, Erbil, Muscat and Tehran. In addition, Eurowings plans to suspend its flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, and Erbil until 30 April, and to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman until 24 October.
In a statement Air France said that it was “monitoring the evolving situation in the region in real-time”. But due to the security context and airspace closures, it has been forced to extend the suspension of its flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh until 31 March inclusive, and to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut until 4 April inclusive.
Airlines change Middle East schedules
UAE carriers Emirates, Etihad Airways and Air Arabia are currently operating reduced and limited flight schedules. Emirates is running a scaled-back network, with capacity gradually recovering, but still below normal levels and passengers advised to check flight status regularly. Etihad is operating a limited schedule to around 70 destinations until the end of March, while Air Arabia has resumed select scheduled services from UAE hubs to key regional and international destinations.
Dutch airline KLM is currently not flying through the airspace of Iran, Iraq, and Israel, or over several countries in the Gulf region. Flights to, from, or via destinations in the region are cancelled or adjusted. KLM’s Tel Aviv flights are suspended up to and including Saturday 11 April; flights to and from Dammam and Riyadh are suspended up to and including Sunday 17 May; and flights to and from Dubai are suspended up to and including Sunday 17 May.
Cathay Pacific has extended its flight suspensions to and from Dubai and Riyadh by a month until 31 May “in view of the ongoing situation in the Middle East”. The Hong Kong carrier said customers affected by the changes had been advised and that it was “monitoring the situation closely and will remain agile”. Cathay also announced that it will operate extra flights between Hong Kong and Paris and Zurich “to cater for an upsurge in market demand for Europe”.
Air India and Air India Express will together operate 24 scheduled and non-scheduled flights, to and from the West Asia region on 24 March. Both carriers will continue operating their respective scheduled services to and from Jeddah, with a total of 10 flights between India and the Saudi city. Of these, Air India will operate one return service each from Delhi and two return services from Mumbai, while Air India Express will operate one flight each from Hyderabad and Kozhikode. Air India Express will operate four scheduled flights to and from Muscat, including services from Delhi and Mumbai. In addition to the scheduled services, Air India and Air India Express will operate a total of 10 non-scheduled flights to and from the UAE, “subject to availability of slots and other prevailing conditions at the departure stations at the time”.
Qatar Airways is currently operating a revised limited schedule until 28 March for flights to and from Hamad International Airport. The Doha-based carrier announced that the temporary schedule will reconnect the Qatari capital with more than 70 destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific. These schedules have been “enhanced to give more flexibility to passengers wishing to travel”, the airline said, and bookings are now open.
British Airways has extended its temporary reduction in flights to destinations across the Middle East and Gulf. The airline confirmed that flights to Amman, Bahrain, Dubai and Tel Aviv were now cancelled up to and including 31 May, and flights to Doha were cancelled until 30 April.
Gulf Air has expanded temporary operations from King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, due to the closure of Bahraini airspace. Bahrain’s national carrier has introduced a limited programme of special flights from Dammam to destinations including Paris, Manila, Cairo, Casablanca, Chennai, Frankfurt, Nairobi, London, Mumbai and Bangkok via Dammam for travel until 28 March.
Oman Air continues to operate as normal, but some routes remain temporarily affected. As a result, flights to and from Amman, Dubai, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Kuwait, Copenhagen, Baghdad, and Khasab are cancelled until 31 March.
Philippine Airlines has announced the temporary suspension of its flights between Manila and selected Middle East destinations – Doha and Dubai – until 30 April. An additional Doha-Manila flight scheduled for 1 May has also been cancelled.
Virgin Atlantic‘s seasonal Dubai service is now suspended for the remainder of the winter. The airline’s flights to Riyadh currently remain paused for an initial period until 25 March.
Low-cost carrier Wizz Air has suspended flights to Israel until 29 March and to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Amman and Jeddah from mainland European destinations until the middle of September.
Turkish Airlines has cancelled some of its flights to and from the following destinations: Bahrain, Dammam and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria and UAE.
Air Canada has said that all flights to and from Dubai are suspended until 30 April, and to and from Tel Aviv until 2 May inclusive.
Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia’s flag carrier, temporarily suspended flights to and from Doha “until further notice”, the company said in a statement.
Read the full article here
