Middle East air travel disruption deepens as airlines extend cancellations across key routes

Air travel across major international routes remains heavily disrupted following the Iran war, which has led to the closure of key Middle Eastern aviation hubs and forced airlines worldwide to extend cancellations, reroute capacity and delay service resumptions across multiple destinations.

The most severe impact continues to be concentrated around major Gulf and Levant hubs, including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, alongside widespread disruptions to Tel Aviv, Riyadh, Beirut and Amman routes, with many carriers pushing suspensions into mid-year and beyond.

Several airlines have completely or partially suspended services for extended periods. Air Canada has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai until September 7, while Air Europa has suspended Tel Aviv operations until May 31.

In Europe, Air France-KLM has extended suspensions across multiple routes, with Air France halting services to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh until May 3, while KLM has cancelled flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until June 14. The Lufthansa Group has also suspended flights to Dubai and Tel Aviv until May 31, with broader Middle East suspensions stretching to October 24 on several routes.

Low-cost and regional carriers have similarly adjusted operations. Wizz Air has delayed its return to Israel until May 4 and suspended services to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman from mainland Europe until mid-September, while also suspending Medina flights indefinitely. Pegasus Airlines has cancelled flights to multiple Middle Eastern destinations, including Dubai, Doha, Riyadh and Beirut, until June 1.

In the Gulf region, Emirates and Etihad Airways are both operating reduced schedules, serving over 100 and around 80 destinations respectively, as airlines adjust capacity in response to restricted airspace and demand shifts.

Several Asian carriers have also revised schedules. Cathay Pacific has suspended flights to Dubai and Riyadh until June 30, while Japan Airlines has suspended Tokyo–Doha services until May 31 and return flights until June 1. Malaysia Airlines has suspended Doha flights until June 14.

In South Asia and Europe-linked operations, LOT Polish Airlines has suspended Tel Aviv flights until May 31 and Riyadh services until June 30, while Norwegian Air Shuttle has postponed new Tel Aviv and Beirut routes until mid-June.

The impact has also extended to Africa and long-haul carriers. Qantas has shifted capacity toward European routes, increasing services to Paris and Rome in response to demand surges, while Royal Air Maroc has cancelled flights to Doha until June 30 and to Dubai until May 31.

Middle Eastern carriers have largely focused on partial restoration and network reshaping. Qatar Airways has resumed selected Gulf routes and is expanding toward more than 150 destinations from mid-June, while Kuwait Airways has restarted services to 17 destinations after reopening of airspace, with Jazeera Airways also resuming operations to nine destinations.

Other European carriers have implemented broad schedule reductions. IAG, including British Airways and Iberia Express, has reduced Middle East capacity, cutting frequencies to Dubai, Doha, Riyadh and Tel Aviv through the summer season ending October 24, while permanently dropping Jeddah from its network.

In parallel, Finnair has cancelled Doha flights until July 2 and continues to avoid multiple regional airspaces, while Delta Air Lines has delayed the restart of its Atlanta–Tel Aviv route until September 5 and postponed its Boston–Tel Aviv launch indefinitely.

Overall, airlines continue to adjust global schedules through staggered suspensions, capacity reductions and selective redeployments, as the disruption across Middle Eastern airspace continues to reshape international aviation flows.