Airlines on six continents deepened their Middle-East capacity cuts on 26 July 2026, citing the fresh spike in regional tensions that overnight prompted the UAE’s partial airspace closure. An analysis by The National shows that more than 180 services touching Gulf airports are now cancelled or on hold until at least late August, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi absorbing the bulk of the disruption. European network carriers are leading the retreat. Air France extended its Dubai suspension until 27 July and postponed Riyadh and Beirut resumptions to August, while KLM has frozen all Riyadh-Dammam-Dubai rotations until 23 August. British Airways pushed its phased Middle-East restart back to 25 October and permanently axed Jeddah. Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Finnair have all lengthened Dubai blackouts through October, forcing high-yield corporate travellers onto multistop routings via Muscat or Doha. Regional carriers are juggling rolling cancellations. Etihad scrubbed its Abu Dhabi–Kuwait/Bahrain flights through 26 July, while Sharjah-based Air Arabia cut multiple Kuwait and Bahrain sectors for 26–27 July. Emirates, which says it has restored 75 % of its pre-war schedule, nonetheless cancelled twenty Kuwait and Bahrain services over the weekend, and warned that further cuts are possible at short notice. The commercial fallout is spreading beyond passenger travel. Freight forwarders report spot cargo rates from Dubai to Europe up 18 % week-on-week as shippers divert high-value consignments to safer routings. Travel-risk consultancies are advising multinational employers to review evacuation thresholds for non-essential expatriate staff and to build in remote-work contingencies for project teams scheduled to rotate through the UAE over the next fortnight. Airlines stress that decisions are “purely operational and safety-driven” and that full refunds or free re-bookings are available. However, with the security outlook fluid, business-travel planners should expect dynamic timetables for at least the next month and lock in flexible fares wherever possible.
Source: The National
