Stock Markets July 15, 2026 12:57 PM

Airlines Partially Restore Middle East Routes as Many Suspensions Persist

Carriers restart some services but widespread pauses remain through autumn and beyond, affecting travel and transport sectors

By Priya Menon
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A growing number of airlines have begun to reinstate select routes to Middle Eastern destinations following the recent conflict tied to strikes on Iran, yet numerous carriers continue to hold flights suspended. Cancellations and delayed resumptions extend into August, September and October for several airlines, with a few routes postponed indefinitely or pushed into seasonal schedules.

Airlines Partially Restore Middle East Routes as Many Suspensions Persist
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Key Points

  • Many carriers have resumed a small number of Middle East routes, but a significant number of services remain suspended through August, September and October.
  • Resumption dates differ by airline and route; some services are delayed until seasonal schedules (October) or postponed indefinitely.
  • Airlines are reducing frequencies on some routes and avoiding certain airspace, affecting operational planning for carriers, airports and travel-related sectors.

Airlines are cautiously restoring certain services to destinations in the Middle East, even as a substantial number of routes remain grounded. The pattern of partial resumptions and extended suspensions reflects uneven operational planning across carriers and differing assessments of security and demand.

Alphabetical status update

  • AEGEAN AIRLINES - Greece’s largest carrier has cancelled flights to Dubai through August 31 and halted services to Erbil and Baghdad until September 30.
  • AIRBALTIC - Flights to Dubai are cancelled until October 24.
  • AIR CANADA - The carrier has cancelled its flights to Tel Aviv and to Dubai through October 24.
  • AIR FRANCE-KLM - Air France has suspended flights to Beirut until August 2. KLM has suspended services to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until July 15, according to a statement posted on its website.
  • CATHAY PACIFIC - Plans to resume scheduled services to Dubai and to Riyadh from September 1.
  • DELTA - The U.S. carrier has suspended Atlanta-Tel Aviv services through December 18. It intends to restart New York-JFK to Tel Aviv on September 6. The planned Boston-Tel Aviv launch, scheduled for late October, has been delayed until further notice.
  • FINNAIR - The Finnish carrier has cancelled its Doha flights until October 2 and continues to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel. It will restart Dubai flights in October; those services are operated seasonally in winter.
  • IAG / British Airways - The carrier has postponed resuming flights to Doha until August 1 and to Riyadh until August 8. Services to Dubai, Tel Aviv, Bahrain and Amman are paused until the end of the summer season and are scheduled to recommence on October 25. When these routes restart, the airline plans to reduce frequencies to one daily flight to Dubai, Doha, Riyadh and Tel Aviv and to discontinue Jeddah as a destination.
  • JAPAN AIRLINES - Scheduled Tokyo-Doha flights are suspended until August 31, and Doha-Tokyo services are suspended until September 1.
  • LOT - The Polish carrier intends to operate its winter route to Dubai beginning in October and expects to resume services to Beirut in its Summer 2027 schedule.
  • LUFTHANSA GROUP - SWISS has postponed the restart of flights to Tel Aviv until August, while Brussels Airlines has suspended operations to affected Middle East destinations until October 24. Lufthansa and SWISS will maintain their suspension of Dubai flights until September 13. Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines have suspended flights to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Dammam, Riyadh, Erbil, Muscat and Tehran through October 24. Eurowings, after restarting flights to Erbil, Beirut and Tel Aviv, expects to bring back remaining Middle East destinations in the autumn. ITA Airways has extended the suspension of flights to Riyadh until July 31 and to Dubai until October 24 for operational reasons.
  • NORWEGIAN AIR - The low-cost carrier has indefinitely delayed planned launches to Tel Aviv and Beirut; no new start dates have been announced.
  • SINGAPORE AIRLINES - The carrier extended its suspension of Singapore-Dubai services until October 24. To meet elevated demand on other long-haul routes, it has added flights on Singapore-London Gatwick and Singapore-Melbourne from late March through October 24.
  • TURKISH AIRLINES / SunExpress - SunExpress, the Turkish Airlines joint venture with Lufthansa, plans to resume the Antalya-Dubai route later on July 15.
  • WIZZ AIR - The low-cost carrier has suspended flights from mainland Europe to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman until mid-September.

Market and operational context

The updates reflect a patchwork of timing and scope for resumptions. Several carriers have set restart dates in August and September, while others have extended suspensions into October or delayed launches indefinitely. Some airlines are managing seasonal schedules when deciding when to reinstate services.

Summary of implications

  • Airline operations continue to be adjusted on a carrier-by-carrier basis, with restart dates staggered across late summer and autumn.
  • Some routes have been cut or reduced in frequency when service resumes.
  • Decisions include both operational reasoning and seasonal scheduling considerations.

Contact points for industry watchers

Airlines, airports and related service providers will monitor demand and security assessments as they adjust schedules. The staggered nature of resumptions means planning for capacity and crew scheduling will remain dynamic through the autumn.

Risks

  • Extended suspensions into autumn and winter could continue to disrupt passenger and cargo networks, affecting airline revenues and airport throughput.
  • Indefinite delays or reductions in frequencies create uncertainty for travel demand forecasting and capacity planning across the aviation and tourism sectors.
  • Avoidance of specific airspace by carriers introduces operational complexity and may force longer routings or cancellations, with implications for costs and scheduling.

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