Stock Markets June 25, 2026 11:30 AM

Some Airlines Restart Limited Middle East Services as Widespread Suspensions Persist

A patchwork of resumptions and extended cancellations leaves global travel routes and schedules in flux

By Priya Menon
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Airlines have begun to restore select routes to parts of the Middle East as diplomatic efforts progress, but many carriers continue to keep a range of services suspended. The pattern is fragmented: a few operators are reinstating flights as early as July, while others have pushed cancellations into October or later, maintaining disruption for passengers and networks.

Some Airlines Restart Limited Middle East Services as Widespread Suspensions Persist
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Key Points

  • Some airlines are starting limited resumptions to Middle East routes, but many suspensions remain active with cancellations stretching into October and beyond.
  • Carriers are unevenly restoring services and, in some cases, reducing frequencies or removing destinations, which affects passenger connectivity and network planning.
  • Sectors affected include passenger airlines, international travel and tourism, and air cargo operations that rely on scheduled passenger services.

Air carriers are beginning to reopen a small number of links to the Middle East even as a substantial portion of services remain suspended. Diplomatic movement has prompted some airlines to plan resumptions, but numerous carriers continue to keep flights halted for weeks or months, prolonging interruptions to both passenger itineraries and air networks.

Snapshot

Below is an alphabetized update on the status of airlines and their scheduled services to Middle East destinations, reflecting the current mix of resumptions and extended cancellations.


AEGEAN AIRLINES

Greece's largest carrier cancelled flights from Thessaloniki to Tel Aviv through June 26. Services to Dubai are cancelled until August 31, and flights to Erbil and Baghdad are cancelled through September 30.

AIRBALTIC

Latvia's airBaltic has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv until June 28 and suspended flights to Dubai until October 24.

AIR CANADA

Air Canada has cancelled flights to both Tel Aviv and Dubai until October 24.

AIR EUROPA

The Spanish carrier has cancelled its flights to Tel Aviv through June 28.

AIR FRANCE-KLM

Air France has suspended Tel Aviv flights until June 30 and has halted services to Dubai and Beirut until July 5. 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 late-October launch of a Boston-Tel Aviv route has been delayed until further notice.

FINNAIR

Finnair has cancelled its Doha flights until October 2 and continues to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel. The carrier will restart Dubai flights in October; those Dubai services operate only in the winter season for Finnair.

IAG

IAG-owned British Airways has delayed resumption of flights to Doha until August 1 and to 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 those routes restart, the airline plans to reduce services to Dubai, Doha, Riyadh and Tel Aviv to one daily flight and will stop serving Jeddah as a destination.

JAPAN AIRLINES

Japan Airlines has suspended scheduled Tokyo-Doha flights until August 31 and Doha-Tokyo flights until September 1.

LOT

Poland's LOT has cancelled flights to Riyadh until June 30 and to Beirut until June 27. The airline plans to operate its winter route to Dubai beginning in October.

LUFTHANSA GROUP

Lufthansa has indicated plans to resume flights to Tel Aviv as early as July 1. ITA Airways confirmed it will resume flights to Tel Aviv from July 1. SWISS postponed resumption of Tel Aviv services until August, and Brussels Airlines has suspended operations until October 24. Lufthansa and SWISS will continue their suspension of Dubai flights until September 13.

Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines have suspended flights to a range of Middle Eastern destinations - Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Dammam, Riyadh, Erbil, Muscat and Tehran - until October 24.

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.

For operational reasons, ITA Airways has extended suspension of its flights to Riyadh until July 31 and to Dubai until October 24.

MALAYSIA AIRLINES

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

NORWEGIAN AIR

Norwegian Air has pushed back planned launches of Tel Aviv and Beirut services indefinitely; no new start dates have been set.

ROYAL AIR MAROC

Royal Air Maroc said flights to Doha were cancelled until June 30.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES

Singapore Airlines extended its Singapore-Dubai flight suspension until August 2. At the same time, it added services on the Singapore-London Gatwick and Singapore-Melbourne routes from late March until October 24 to address higher demand.

TURKISH AIRLINES / SUNEXPRESS

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

WIZZ AIR

Wizz Air has suspended flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman from mainland European origins until mid-September.


Context and operational patterns

The current situation shows a mix of short-term suspensions and longer extensions stretching into October and beyond for several carriers. Some airlines are targeting July for restarts on selected routes, while others have set later dates or left resumption timing undecided. A number of carriers are also adjusting seasonal services, such as winter-only Dubai routes being scheduled to resume in October.

Impact on travel networks

These staggered cancellations and selective resumptions create a complex operating environment for international travel. Carriers that have reduced frequencies or removed destinations from their schedules will alter connectivity patterns across the region and for long-haul passengers relying on hub transfers.


Key points

  • Some airlines are beginning to resume select Middle East routes, but many suspensions remain in place, with cancellations extending into October and beyond.
  • Major carriers have shifted restart dates unevenly, with firms reducing frequencies and dropping some destinations when services return, affecting airline network planning and passenger connectivity.
  • Sectors most affected include passenger airlines, international travel and tourism, and air cargo operations that rely on scheduled passenger services for bellyhold capacity.

Risks and uncertainties

  • Ongoing flight suspensions continue to disrupt global travel and passenger itineraries, creating uncertainty for travelers and operators.
  • Resumption dates vary widely across carriers and routes, meaning scheduling and capacity planning remain uncertain for airlines and partner businesses.
  • Reductions in frequency and the dropping of destinations by some airlines may reduce connectivity and have downstream effects on tourism and freight movements that depend on those links.

Risks

  • Continuing flight suspensions that disrupt global travel and passenger itineraries.
  • Uncertainty over resumption dates across carriers and routes, complicating scheduling and capacity planning.
  • Reductions in services and dropped destinations that could reduce connectivity and impact tourism and freight flows.

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