Air carriers are gradually reinstating selected routes to the Middle East as regional operators add capacity following sharp wartime disruptions, but many non-Gulf carriers remain reluctant to fly through or near the conflict zone. While some airlines have announced resumptions, a wide range of suspensions and route changes remain in effect, with operators citing safety and operational constraints.
Airline-by-airline update (alphabetical)
- AEGEAN - Greece's largest carrier has cancelled Thessaloniki-Tel Aviv services through June 26. Its Dubai flights are cancelled until August 31, and services to Erbil and Baghdad are cancelled until July 2.
- AEROFLOT - The Russian flag carrier said it will resume flights to the United Arab Emirates from June 1.
- AIRBALTIC - Latvia's airBaltic cancelled flights to Tel Aviv until June 28 and suspended services to Dubai until October 24.
- AIR CANADA - The Canadian carrier has cancelled flights to both Tel Aviv and Dubai until September 7.
- AIR EUROPA - The Spanish airline cancelled flights to Tel Aviv through June 28.
- AIR FRANCE-KLM - Air France has suspended Tel Aviv flights until June 7. It has also suspended services to Beirut and Dubai until June 10 and to Riyadh until June 2. KLM has suspended flights to Riyadh and Dammam until July 12 and to Dubai until August 2.
- CATHAY PACIFIC - The Hong Kong carrier has suspended passenger flights to Dubai and Riyadh until August 31, and its cargo freighter services to those two Gulf hubs are suspended until May 31. Cathay plans to operate its scheduled flights beyond June.
- DELTA - The U.S. carrier extended the suspension of its Atlanta-Tel Aviv service through December 18. Delta plans to resume New York-JFK to Tel Aviv flights on September 6. The planned Boston-Tel Aviv launch, scheduled for late October, has been delayed until further notice.
- EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES - All flights to Dubai are cancelled through May 31.
- FINNAIR - The Finnish carrier cancelled Doha flights through October 2 and continues to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel. It will not restart Dubai services until October.
- IAG - IAG-owned British Airways has delayed resuming flights to Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv until August 1. When services restart, BA plans to reduce frequency to the Middle East and has permanently dropped Jeddah as a destination. The carrier plans to limit services to Dubai, Doha, Riyadh and Tel Aviv to one daily flight. IAG's low-cost unit Iberia Express has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv through May 31.
- JAPAN AIRLINES - Japan Airlines has suspended scheduled Tokyo-Doha flights until July 31 and Doha-Tokyo flights until August 1.
- LOT - The Polish carrier suspended flights to Tel Aviv until May 30. It also cancelled flights to Riyadh until June 30 and suspended Beirut services from March 31 through June 27. LOT plans to operate its winter route to Dubai in October.
- LUFTHANSA GROUP - Austrian Airlines will restart operations to Tel Aviv from June 1. Lufthansa, SWISS and ITA Airways are planning to resume flights as early as July. Brussels Airlines has suspended operations until October 24. Lufthansa, SWISS and ITA Airways will continue suspending Dubai flights until September 13. Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines have suspended services to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Dammam, Riyadh, Erbil, Muscat and Tehran until October 24. Low-cost Eurowings suspended Tel Aviv flights until July 9, Beirut until June 12, Erbil until June 22 and Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman until October 24. ITA Airways extended its suspension of flights to Riyadh until June 30.
- MALAYSIA AIRLINES - The carrier will resume limited services to Doha from July 2.
- NORWEGIAN AIR - The low-cost airline has pushed back planned launches of its Tel Aviv and Beirut services to June 15.
- PEGASUS - Turkey's Pegasus Airlines cancelled services to Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah until June 1.
- QANTAS - Australia's flag carrier is adding capacity to Europe with more flights to Rome and Paris in response to increased demand. Paris services will rise to five return flights per week from three, and the Perth-Singapore service will expand from daily to 10 a week. The updated schedule will be implemented progressively, running from mid-April through late July.
- ROYAL AIR MAROC - The Moroccan carrier cancelled Doha flights until June 30 and Dubai flights until May 31.
- SINGAPORE AIRLINES - The carrier extended the suspension of its Singapore-Dubai service until August 2, while adding Singapore-London Gatwick and Singapore-Melbourne services from late March through October 24 to address stronger demand on those routes.
- TURKISH AIRLINES / SUNEXPRESS - SunExpress, the joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, cancelled flights to Dubai, Bahrain, Beirut and Erbil until June 30.
- WIZZ AIR - The low-cost carrier resumed flights to Tel Aviv on May 28. However, flights from mainland Europe to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman remain suspended until mid-September. All services to Medina are suspended indefinitely.
Market snapshot - The article included market moves for a set of airline-related tickers. Those data points were: LHAG+2.98%, AIRF+1.48%, 0293+4.15%, DAL+0.52%, SIAL+1.04%, ELAL+1.28%, AFLT-0.27%, ICAG+1.27%, THYAO-0.25%, AC+1.1%, FIA1S+0.9%, NAS+0.63%, PGSUS-1.51%, AGNr+2.48%, 9201+3.05%, WIZZ+1.25%, QAN+3.17%.
Context and current dynamics
Regional carriers have moved more quickly to restore certain services, reflecting their proximity to the affected markets and, in some cases, the need to meet local demand. By contrast, many international airlines continue to reroute Europe-Asia traffic to avoid the region or have kept suspensions in place for key long-haul services. Cargo operations have also been adjusted, with some freighter services temporarily halted while passenger networks are being rebuilt selectively.
Summary
Some Middle Eastern routes are coming back online as regional airlines add capacity, but widespread rerouting and suspensions remain in place for many international carriers. The result is a fragmented recovery in air services to and through the Middle East, with ongoing operational constraints affecting both passenger and cargo networks.