Flight disruptions in the UAE are no longer limited to Gulf-based carriers. Major international airlines—including Air France, Cathay Pacific, KLM, Singapore Airlines and Air Canada—have extended their Dubai and Riyadh suspensions into late October 2026 or, in some cases, early 2027. British Airways still plans a 3 November relaunch but has trimmed frequencies, while Virgin Atlantic will stay away until winter 2027. Aviation-insurers have reportedly doubled war-risk premiums for carriers operating within 250 nautical miles of Iranian or Iraqi airspace, making marginal routes commercially unviable. Lloyd’s syndicates are now calculating risk corridors that encompass the Strait of Hormuz as well as key UAE airports, pushing up break-even load factors. The extended pull-back complicates corporate mobility programmes that rely on direct long-haul links to North America and East Asia. Travel managers may need to book on Emirates, Etihad or Gulf-based competitors, which continue to fly but are running at high load factors and elevated fares. Forward-booking data from OAG show premium-cabin capacity into DXB down 27 % year-on-year for October—a red flag for time-sensitive executive travel and air freight. The Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) says it is working with remaining carriers to protect winter-season seat inventory, but tour operators fear capacity shortfalls could erode visitor numbers from Europe and Canada. Businesses sending expatriates into the UAE should secure flights well in advance and build cost-contingency buffers into relocation budgets.
Source: Gulf News
