British Airways cancels hundreds of flights ‘until later this year’ with major cities impacted

The scale of the disruption to aviation caused by the US and Israeli attack on Iran has been enormous. Of the 38,193 flights that were scheduled to fly out or into the Middle East since February 28, 21,915 have been cancelled

British Airways has cancelled hundreds of flights to countries across the Middle East as the war in Iran rages.

This afternoon, the UK’s flag carrier announced it would reduce its flight schedule across the region and cancel flights to certain cities. BA bosses have decided to ground all flights to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates until “later this year”.

Although the airline hasn’t said how many services have been cancelled, given its daily services to Abu Dhabi prior to the war, the total number of flights grounded comfortably stretches into the hundreds.

“Due to the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and airspace instability, we’ve had to temporarily reduce our flying schedule in the region. We’ve cancelled all flights to and from Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv until later this month and to and from Abu Dhabi until later this year. We’re keeping the situation under constant review and are in touch with our customers to offer them a range of options,” the statement from BA reads.

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“We have limited seats remaining on our repatriation flights from Oman (Muscat) to London Heathrow on 11 and 12 March for customers with an existing booking. Following these dates, the flights will pause due to reduced demand but will be kept under continuous review.”

The scale of the disruption to aviation caused by the US and Israeli attack on Iran has been enormous. Of the 38,193 flights that were scheduled to fly out or into the Middle East since February 28, 21,915 have been cancelled. The latest figures show that most routes are getting back to close to normal. Of the 4,783 flights scheduled for today, 1,107 were or are expected to be cancelled.

If you are due to fly from or to the Middle East in the coming days, make sure you check your airline’s website for instructions and the Foreign Office website for the latest advice.

What have the airlines said?

• Aegean Airlines – Greece’s largest carrier cancelled flights to Tel Aviv until March 20; Beirut, Erbil and Baghdad until March 25; Dubai and Abu Dhabi until March 19; and Riyadh until March 14.

• Air France–KLM – Air France cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut through March 13, and to Dubai and Riyadh until March 12. KLM suspended flights to Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam until March 10, and to Tel Aviv for the rest of the winter season.
• Cathay Pacific – Cancelled all flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh until March 31.
• Delta – Cancelled flights from New York to Tel Aviv until March 22 and from Tel Aviv to New York until March 23.
• Emirates – Operating a reduced flight schedule but expects to return to full operations within days, depending on airspace availability and operational requirements.
• Etihad Airways – Resumed a limited commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi and several key destinations.
• Iberia Express cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv through March 10.
• Lufthansa Group – Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Brussels Airlines suspended Tel Aviv flights through April 2 and Beirut flights through March 28. Flights to Tehran are suspended until April 30, and to Amman, Erbil, Dammam, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until March 15.
• Norwegian Air – Now plans to start flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut on June 15, instead of the previously scheduled April 1 and April 4.
• Qatar Airways – Operating a limited schedule to and from Doha, with some flights resuming from March 9 following temporary authorisation from Qatar’s civil aviation authority.
• Saudia Airlines – Suspended flights to Amman, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Bahrain until March 10, and to Moscow and Peshawar until March 15. Limited operations to Dubai have resumed.
• Wizz Air – Suspended flights to Israel until March 29, and flights from mainland Europe to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Amman and Jeddah until mid-September.