British Airways has said it will cut flights to six destinations and permanently end its route to a seventh, citing the war in the Middle East
British Airways said the cuts are due to the war with Iran (file)(Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
British Airways is cutting flights to seven major international airports in response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The airline said it has updated its schedule of flights for the Summer 2026 season, which ends on October 24. Customers have been told the changes were made to destinations in the Middle East due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and US-Israeli forces in the region.
As a part of the new schedule, British Airways has reduced the number of flights to seven cities in the Middle East. Services to Dubai are being reduced from three flights a day to one, with the daily service due to return on August 1 (meanwhile, a second daily flight is planned to start on October 16).
Flights to Doha in Qatar, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Tel Aviv in Israel are also being cut from twice‑daily to once‑daily. All three routes are expected to resume normal frequency on August 1.
READ MORE: Holiday hell as luggage piled at Heathrow and BA warns of ‘ongoing impact’READ MORE: British Airways cancels flights from Heathrow and Gatwick as hundreds stranded at airport
Following a wider review of the programme, the airline has also made the decision to permanently end its route to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia from April 24, The Express reports.
The airlines said in a statement: “Due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, we have made further changes to our flying schedule to provide greater clarity for our customers.
“We are keeping the situation under constant review and are directly in touch with affected customers to offer them a range of options.
“Since the disruption began, we have helped thousands of customers return home, operated relief flights, and added additional capacity on key long‑haul routes. We will continue to assess and introduce further flying where possible.”
Destinations impacted by reduced British Airways flights
- Tel Aviv
- Dubai
- Doha
- Riyadh
- Bahrain
- Amman
- Jeddah