Several international airlines resumed a small number of flights from the United Arab Emirates on Monday, offering some relief to travelers affected by airspace closures and other security measures as the US and Israel bombed Iran, and Iran retaliated against targets across the Middle East.
Long-haul airlines Etihad Airways and Emirates, based in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and low-cost carrier FlyDubai said they would operate selected flights from the country, where air traffic was suspended on Saturday and defense systems intercepted Iranian missiles and drones.
The Dubai government advised passengers to go to airports only if they received contact, during what it called a “limited resumption of operations”. More than 80% of scheduled flights to and from Dubai and more than half of flights to and from Abu Dhabi remained cancelled, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
At least 15 Etihad flights took off from Abu Dhabi airport on Monday to help evacuate passengers stranded in the city, according to tracking service Flightradar24. The flights went to several destinations, including Islamabad, Paris, Amsterdam, Mumbai, Cairo and London. However, scheduled commercial flights remained cancelled.
Emirates said it would also resume a limited number of flights from Monday night, but it was not immediately clear whether those flights had started yet. The airline had previously announced the suspension of flights until 3pm local time on Tuesday.
“We are giving priority to customers with reservations made earlier,” the company said.
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FlyDubai said it will operate four flights departing from the city and another five flights arriving on Monday.
*Content translated with the help of Artificial Intelligence, reviewed and edited by the editorial team of Broadcast
