Emirates Airbus A380
UPDATE March 3: As one of the first airlines, Etihad resumed some operations on Monday, March 2. Emirates and flydubai said they would also restart limited services later on Monday evening. This follows a weekend of flight suspensions after strikes on Iran and counterattacks started on Saturday. Gulf carriers said earlier on Monday that flights would be suspended until Tuesday afternoon, subject to the safety situation in the region.
The conflict started early morning on Saturday, February 28, with attacks from Israeli and US Air Forces on targets in Iran, followed by retaliatory strikes by Iran on Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Gulf carriers were operating their morning flights as usual on Saturday morning, with many European and US-bound services crossing Iraqi and Iranian airspace, when events began. Flights were redirected via Saudi Arabia to avoid the Middle East, where fighter jets were active and Iranian missiles found their way westward to targets in Israel.
When drones or other explosives hit the airport in Kuwait City, air bases in Bahrain and Qatar, and targets in Abu Dhabi, authorities closed their airspace for commercial traffic. Later on Saturday, strikes hit various urban areas in Dubai as well as Terminal 3, resulting in the partial evacuation of DXB.
Conflict Zone bulletin
On March 1, the European aviation authority EASA issued a Conflict Zone Information Bulletin, valid until March 2, until further notice. This has been extended until March 6. It includes the airspace of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, the UAE, and the Jeddah Flight Information Region in Saudi Arabia.
“Given the current and expected developments, there is thus a high risk to civil aviation in the affected airspace. Air operators should: 1) Not operate within the affected airspace at all flight levels and altitudes; 2) Closely monitor airspace developments in the region and follow all available aeronautical publications concerning the region, including information shared through the European Information Sharing and Cooperation Platform on Conflict Zones, alongside available guidance or direction from their national authorities.”
Airlines
The airspace closure is seriously affecting all airlines in the region. What is their status on March 2?
Emirates/flydubai
Emirates and flydubai immediately suspended flights to and from Dubai until March 3, 3 pm local time. Both carriers had originally hoped to resume services on March 1, then on the 2nd, but as Iran continued its strikes on the UAE, they had no other options but to remain grounded. But on Monday afternoon, Emirates and flydubai announced they would be commencing a limited number of flights. flydubai specified that it would operate four outbound flights and five return flights that were previously stranded.
A very large part of the fleets of both airlines has been stranded at destinations around the world since Saturday afternoon. Outbound morning flights reached their destinations, but inbound flights were cancelled. Emirates aircraft in flight to Dubai were diverted. Airbus A380s coming back from the US were diverted to Munich, Vienna, and Rome. The flight from São Paulo was already over Africa, but returned to Brazil. The Auckland service had just crossed Australia before making a U-turn back to New Zealand.
Around noon European time on March 1, only five flights were showing on Flightradar24, including fifth-freedom services between New York to Athens, Barcelona to Mexico City and back, Bangkok and Hong Kong, plus a couple of SkyCargo flights. No flydubai flights were active.
Air Arabia
Air Arabia has suspended services to and from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, but continues to operate from Egypt and Morocco.
Etihad
Etihad had no active flights on March 1, and communicated that it had suspended all flights until March 2, 2 pm local time. This was later updated to the 3rd. But early Monday afternoon, the airline resumed limited services with an initial cargo flight from Abu Dhabi to Hong Kong. This was followed by passenger flights to destinations like Paris, London, Amsterdam, Moscow, Mumbai, and Dammam, while some inbound flights were also resumed.
Etihad’s hub at Zayed International Airport was hit on Saturday by either a drone or debris, but the impact was limited.
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways said on Monday that it has extended its flight suspension until 9 am on March 3, subject to developments. Just a single cargo service between Chicago and Amsterdam showed on Flightradar24 on Sunday afternoon, but other aircraft have not been able to return to Doha since Saturday. The capital of Qatar and especially a US air base on the outskirts have been targeted, while the remains of downed missiles plunged into the streets.
Gulf Air
With Bahrain in the frontline of retaliatory strikes and its airspace closed, Gulf Air has also suspended services. Its website doesn’t say until when: “Gulf Air continues to monitor developments in coordination with the relevant authorities. On Monday morning, a single flight from Jeddah to Bahrain was in the air.
Kuwait Airways/Jazeera Airways
On Kuwait Airways’ app and website, there is no reference to the current situation, but low-cost Jazeera Airways says flights have been suspended until further notice. The airspace is closed, and the airport in Kuwait City needs repairs after it was hit directly on Saturday. Jazeera operated a positioning flight between Jeddah and Istanbul on Monday morning.
Oman Air/Salam Air
Positioned further south in the Arabian Peninsula, Oman Air is largely unaffected by the events. It has only suspended flights to destinations in the Gulf region, but other flights continue to operate as normal through Saudi airspace.
Oman’s other airline, Salam Air, resumed operations on March 1, except for destinations in Iran, Iraq, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait. They are suspended until further notice.
El Al
Israel’s flag carrier El Al says on its website: “Following the declaration of a special situation on the home front and the closure of Israel’s airspace for departures and arrivals, as directed by the security and aviation authorities, all EL AL and Sundor flights to and from Israel that were scheduled to depart through Tuesday, March 1, at 2:00 AM (between March 2 and 3) are cancelled.”
Flightradar did show some El Al flights on Sunday, but only between Larnaca (Cyprus) and Paros, and between Pafos (Greece) and Budapest (Hungary). On Monday morning, a flight was seen from Tel Aviv to Milan.
Saudia
Saudia Airlines has suspended flights to and from Amman, Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, Moscow, and Peshawar until March 2, 23:59 GMT.
Besides the airlines specifically mentioned here, various carriers have been affected, with aircraft and crew stranded at airports in the Gulf region. Others have suspended service to the region. Lufthansa Group announced that it will operate in the Middle East and Gulf region until March 7. KLM says that flights to Dubai, Riyadh, and Dammam will be “disrupted” until at least March 3. British Airways says it has cancelled several flights to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, and Tel Aviv.
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