Stock Markets June 17, 2026 07:30 AM

Airlines Partially Restore Middle East Routes as Diplomatic Talks Advance, But Major Suspensions Persist

Some carriers resume flights to select Middle Eastern destinations while many continue long-term cancellations that keep travel disrupted

By Sofia Navarro
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A number of airlines have begun reinstating services to parts of the Middle East amid diplomatic efforts to stem the conflict sparked by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. However, a significant portion of carriers are keeping routes suspended for weeks or months, maintaining disruption to global air travel. Below is an alphabetical update of operating statuses and suspension timelines provided by carriers.

Airlines Partially Restore Middle East Routes as Diplomatic Talks Advance, But Major Suspensions Persist
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Key Points

  • Some airlines have begun limited resumption of services to parts of the Middle East as diplomatic efforts intensify, but many carriers maintain suspensions for weeks or months.
  • Major European groups and low-cost carriers have announced a mix of resumptions and extended cancellations, affecting routes to Tel Aviv, Dubai, Doha, Riyadh and other regional hubs.
  • The aviation sector, global travel demand and related markets such as airport operations and regional tourism are impacted by the ongoing patchwork of route suspensions and staggered restarts.

As diplomatic activity intensifies aimed at de-escalating the confrontation that followed U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, some airlines have started to restore limited services to parts of the Middle East. Nevertheless, many carriers continue to maintain suspensions, leaving travel links disrupted across multiple markets.

The following airline-by-airline status update is presented in alphabetical order and reflects the current suspension and resumption schedules that carriers have announced.


AEGEAN AIRLINES - Greece's largest carrier has cancelled flights from Thessaloniki to Tel Aviv through June 26. Aegean has also suspended services to Dubai until August 31, and to Erbil and Baghdad until September 30.

AIRBALTIC - Latvia's airBaltic has cancelled Tel Aviv flights until June 28 and Dubai services until October 24.

AIR CANADA - The Canadian carrier has cancelled its routes to Tel Aviv and Dubai through October 24.

AIR EUROPA - The Spanish airline has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv until June 28.

AIR FRANCE-KLM - Air France has suspended flights to Tel Aviv until June 23, to Beirut until June 24 and to Dubai until June 30. KLM has suspended services to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until August 9.

CATHAY PACIFIC - The Hong Kong carrier has suspended flights to Dubai and Riyadh until August 31.

DELTA - Delta has suspended its Atlanta-Tel Aviv service through December 18. It plans to resume New York-JFK to Tel Aviv flights on September 6. The planned launch of Delta's Boston-Tel Aviv route, originally scheduled for late October, has been delayed until further notice.

FINNAIR - The Finnish carrier has cancelled Doha flights until October 2 and continues to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel. Finnair will restart Dubai flights in October, noting that it operates Dubai mainly in the winter season.

IAG / BRITISH AIRWAYS - IAG-owned British Airways has postponed the resumption of its Doha service until August 1 and Riyadh until August 8. Flights to Dubai, Tel Aviv, Bahrain and Amman are paused until the end of the summer season and are scheduled to resume on October 25. When services restart, BA plans to reduce frequencies to one daily flight to Dubai, Doha, Riyadh and Tel Aviv, and it will drop Jeddah as a destination.

JAPAN AIRLINES - Japan Airlines has suspended scheduled Tokyo-Doha flights until July 31 and Doha-Tokyo flights until August 1.

LOT (Poland) - LOT has cancelled flights to Riyadh until June 30 and to Beirut until June 27. The airline intends to operate its winter route to Dubai starting in October.

LUFTHANSA GROUP - Lufthansa plans to resume flights to Tel Aviv as early as July 1. ITA Airways has confirmed it will resume Tel Aviv flights from July 1 as well. SWISS has postponed resuming Tel Aviv flights until August, and Brussels Airlines has suspended operations to Tel Aviv until October 24. Lufthansa, SWISS and ITA Airways will continue suspensions of Dubai flights until September 13. Additionally, Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines have suspended flights to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Dammam, Riyadh, Erbil, Muscat and Tehran until October 24.

EUROWINGS - The low-cost carrier Eurowings has suspended flights to Tel Aviv until July 9, to Beirut and Erbil until June 30, and to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman until October 24.

ITA AIRWAYS - In addition to the broader Lufthansa Group scheduling, ITA Airways has extended its suspension of flights to Riyadh until July 31.

MALAYSIA AIRLINES - Malaysia Airlines will resume limited services to Doha from July 2.

NORWEGIAN AIR - The low-cost airline Norwegian Air has pushed back planned launches of Tel Aviv and Beirut services indefinitely, with no new start dates announced.

ROYAL AIR MAROC - Royal Air Maroc has cancelled flights to Doha until June 30.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES - Singapore Airlines extended the suspension of its Singapore-Dubai flights until August 2. The carrier is adding services on the Singapore-London Gatwick and Singapore-Melbourne routes from late March until October 24 to meet higher demand.

TURKISH AIRLINES / SUNEXPRESS - SunExpress, the joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, has cancelled flights to Dubai until June 30 and to Bahrain, Beirut and Erbil until July 14.

WIZZ AIR - The low-cost carrier Wizz Air has suspended flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman from mainland European destinations until mid-September.


While the pace of diplomatic engagement has prompted some carriers to plan limited resumptions, a large number of operators are keeping cancellations in place for several weeks or months. The patchwork of resumed services and extended suspensions continues to affect passenger schedules and connectivity between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Risks

  • Ongoing suspensions and delayed restarts of key Middle East routes continue to disrupt passenger travel and airline schedules, affecting revenue for carriers and airport operators.
  • Extended cancellations to major hubs such as Dubai, Doha and Riyadh can amplify capacity reductions and route adjustments, creating uncertainty for airline network planning and related sectors like aircraft leasing and ground services.
  • Indefinite postponements and long suspension windows increase booking volatility and could dampen demand recovery in affected markets, posing risks to carriers that rely on these international connections.

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