Global commercial aviation remains under heavy strain as a result of hub closures and restricted airspace tied to the Iran war, with many carriers cancelling services and restructuring schedules across a wide range of routes. The disruptions, extending into the summer and autumn scheduling seasons for some airlines, affect passenger operations and cargo freighters and have led carriers to redeploy capacity on other long-haul services.
Below is the current status of airlines and their suspended or changed routes, listed alphabetically as reported by the carriers.
AEGEAN AIRLINES - Greece's largest airline will resume Athens-Tel Aviv flights on April 28. However, AEGEAN has cancelled services from Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Rhodes and Larnaca to Tel Aviv until June 26. Flights to Riyadh and Amman are cancelled until June 28 and to Beirut until June 26. The carrier has suspended operations to Erbil and Baghdad until July 2, and to Dubai until June 29.
AIRBALTIC - Latvia's airBaltic has cancelled its flights to Tel Aviv through May 31. The airline has also suspended flights to Dubai until October 24.
AIR CANADA - The Canadian carrier has cancelled services to Tel Aviv and Dubai through September 7.
AIR EUROPA - Air Europa has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv until May 31.
AIR FRANCE-KLM - Air France has temporarily suspended its services to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh until May 3. KLM has suspended flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until June 14.
CATHAY PACIFIC - The Hong Kong-based airline has suspended passenger flights to Dubai and Riyadh until June 30, and has paused cargo freighter services to Dubai and Riyadh until May 31. To address stronger demand to Europe, Cathay Pacific will operate extra passenger flights to London, Paris and Zurich during April and plans to operate all scheduled flights beyond June.
DELTA - The U.S. carrier has cancelled its New York-Tel Aviv flights and delayed the restart of Atlanta-Tel Aviv service until September 5. Delta also delayed the launch of its planned Boston-Tel Aviv route, originally scheduled for late October, until further notice.
EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES - El Al reports a gradual expansion of its operations and will operate flights to about 40 active gateways from April 27. All flights to Dubai are cancelled through May 31.
EMIRATES - Emirates is operating a reduced schedule while continuing to serve more than 100 destinations.
ETIHAD AIRWAYS - Etihad is operating a commercial schedule between Abu Dhabi and approximately 80 destinations.
FINNAIR - Finland's carrier has cancelled flights to Doha until July 2 and continues to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel. Finnair's Dubai service will not restart until October.
IAG - IAG-owned British Airways will reduce flights to Middle Eastern destinations when services resume, permanently dropping Jeddah and trimming services to Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv to one daily flight from July 1. Riyadh services will be cut from two daily flights to one starting mid-May. These changes apply through the summer season, which ends on October 24; one Dubai service will restart on October 16. IAG's Iberia Express has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv through May 31.
JAPAN AIRLINES - Japan Airlines has suspended scheduled Tokyo-Doha flights until May 10 and Doha-Tokyo flights until May 11. The carrier has also announced extra flights between Tokyo and London on April 25.
LOT - The Polish carrier has suspended flights to Tel Aviv until May 31. LOT has also cancelled flights to Riyadh until June 30 and suspended Beirut services from March 31 to May 30. The airline intends to resume its winter route to Dubai in October.
LUFTHANSA GROUP - Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Edelweiss have suspended flights to Dubai and Tel Aviv until May 31. These airlines have also suspended services to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Dammam, Riyadh, Erbil, Muscat and Tehran until October 24. ITA Airways extended suspensions of flights to and from Tel Aviv and Riyadh until May 10 and to and from Dubai until May 31. Low-cost Eurowings plans to suspend flights to Tel Aviv until May 11, to Beirut and Erbil until May 14, and to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman until October 24.
MALAYSIA AIRLINES - Malaysia's carrier has suspended flights to Doha until June 14.
NORWEGIAN AIR - The low-cost airline has postponed planned launches of services to Tel Aviv and Beirut until June 15.
PEGASUS - Turkey's Pegasus Airlines cancelled flights to a wide range of destinations until June 1, including Iran, Iraq, Amman, Beirut, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Riyadh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
ROYAL AIR MAROC - The Moroccan carrier has cancelled flights to Doha until June 30 and to Dubai until May 31.
QANTAS - Australia's flag carrier is adding capacity to Rome and Paris to address stronger demand for European services. Paris frequencies will increase from three to five return flights per week. The Perth-Singapore service will increase from daily to 10 flights per week. These schedule updates will be phased in from mid-April and run until late July.
QATAR AIRWAYS - Qatar Airways said it plans to expand its international flight network, operating services to more than 150 destinations from June 16.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES - Singapore Airlines has extended the suspension of its Singapore-Dubai flights until May 31. The carrier is adding capacity on the Singapore-London Gatwick and Singapore-Melbourne routes from late March through October 24 to meet stronger demand.
TURKISH AIRLINES - SunExpress, Turkish Airlines' joint venture with Lufthansa, has cancelled flights to Dubai until April 30.
WIZZ AIR - The low-cost carrier has delayed the return of flights to Israel until May 4. Wizz Air is suspending flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman from mainland European airports until mid-September. Flights to Medina have been suspended indefinitely.
These disruptions span a broad range of timing. Some routes are suspended through early May, others into June and beyond. A number of carriers have pushed suspensions well into October for destinations including Dubai and several other Middle Eastern cities, reflecting the extended period of operational uncertainty.
Carriers have responded in different ways. Several airlines are reallocating capacity to growing markets in Europe, India, Africa and Australia, adding extra flights on longer-haul routes to absorb passenger demand displaced by Middle Eastern closures. Cargo services have also been adjusted, with specific freighter suspensions noted by some operators.
The pattern of cancellations and reduced schedules affects a wide range of stakeholders, from direct airline operations to airport logistics and freight chains that rely on steady connectivity through Middle Eastern hubs. While some carriers are resuming a limited set of services, many planned launches and restarts have been delayed or cancelled pending changes to the operating environment.
Summary
Major carriers across multiple regions have cancelled or suspended flights to and through Middle Eastern hubs, creating ongoing disruptions to global passenger and cargo air services. The timing of suspensions varies by airline and route, with some services expected to remain suspended into October. Airlines are reallocating capacity to alternate long-haul markets in response to shifting demand.
Key points
- Many carriers have cancelled or suspended routes to Tel Aviv, Dubai and other Middle Eastern cities with suspension dates ranging from early May to late October.
- Airlines are reallocating capacity with added services to Europe, India, Africa and Australia to absorb demand, while cargo freighter schedules have also been adjusted.
- Sectors impacted include passenger airlines, air cargo, airport operations and tourism markets that depend on connections via Middle Eastern hubs.
Risks and uncertainties
- Uncertain duration of hub closures and airspace restrictions, which could prolong cancellations and affect summer and autumn schedules for multiple carriers - this primarily impacts airlines and cargo operators.
- Potential for continued reallocation of capacity to alternative long-haul markets, which may alter revenue mixes and seasonal network planning for carriers and airports.
- Variable restart timelines across carriers create coordination challenges for passengers and freight forwarders relying on predictable connections.
Tags: aviation, airlines, travel, cargo