5 of the region’s main airlines continue to reduce flights compared to pre-war numbers
Airlines from several countries continue to suspend some operations in the Middle East this Thursday (19 March 2026) after the United States and Israel at the end of February.
According to the flight map, 5 of the region’s main airlines continue to reduce flights compared to pre-war numbers. For comparison purposes, Air Arabia, Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, FlyDubai and Qatar Airways, together, registered 2,056 flights on February 24, compared to 896 on Wednesday (Mar 18).
Carriers from different countries announced cancellations or suspensions of routes. Here is the situation this Thursday (19th March):
- – Flights to and from Amman, Beirut, Bahrain, Tel Aviv, Doha, Kuwait, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Daman remain canceled until further notice;
- – The Moroccan company published on March 13 that routes involving Dubai and Doha are canceled until March 31;
- – The company continues to allow customers with tickets purchased for routes involving Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates before February 28, 2026 to change the dates free of charge or request a refund. The measure is valid for flights until April 30th and can be activated until June 10th;
- – The company confirmed flights to several cities in Asia, Oceania, Europe and North America from Abu Dhabi until Thursday (19 March). All other commercial routes are cancelled, and in this case, passengers who purchased tickets before February 28th with dates up to March 31st can reschedule or request a refund until May 15th;
- – The company says it operates a limited number of flights and allows passengers to change routes or request refunds for tickets purchased until April 15;
- – FlyDubai operates a limited number of flights and allows passengers to change routes or request refunds for tickets purchased until March 31;
- – The company informed that it is temporarily suspending operations. The company said it will resume full activity when authorities deem it safe to reopen the country’s airspace. Meanwhile, Qatar Airways has been granted authorization to operate limited routes until March 28;
- – On March 6, the Arab company resumed limited routes to some countries in Asia, Africa and Europe until April 15;
- – The company assumed itself as a connection point between the Middle East and other locations, and announced 36 extra flight dates to and from London, Frankfurt, Zurich and Toronto from New Delhi or Mumbai from March 19th to 28th. Air India has operated around 50 daily routes involving the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia;
- – The group reported that it has suspended flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Amman, Erbial and Beirut until March 28; to Tel Aviv until April 9; to Riyadh until April 5; and to Tehran until April 30;
- – Canceled routes until Saturday (21 March) to Riyadh, Dubai, Tel Aviv and Beirut;
- – The company did not issue new communications. But it is only possible to book routes to Tel Aviv, Jeddah and Medina from April to most available destinations. The company is not selling tickets to Doha and Dubai;
- Dutch arm of the Air France-KLM group – Flights to and from Daman, Riyadh and Dubai are suspended until March 28, and until April 11 to Tel Aviv;
- – The company has scheduled extra routes until Sunday (22 March) to London, Cairo, Rome, Paris, Kuala Lumpur, Phuket, Bangkok and Salalah. Flights to and from Amman, Dubai, Bahrain, Doha, Daman, Kuwait, Copenhagen, Khasab and Baghdad are canceled until March 31;
- – Suspended flights between Tokyo and Doha until April 1;
- – The Spanish company says that some flights to and from Doha have been canceled and is offering route changes or refunds, as well as 3 nights’ accommodation if necessary. Operations to Tel Aviv are canceled until March 28;
- – The Spanish company states that flights to and from Israel are canceled until April 10;
- – The Malaysian company resumed routes to Jeddah and Medina on March 8, but flights to and from Doha are suspended until March 28;
- – The British company announced that it is unable to operate flights to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv. The company has interrupted its daily flights from Muscat due to low demand, but will review the decision regularly. The company will operate routes this week to Singapore and Thailand to support customers in the Middle East;
- – The company informed that passengers with flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Larnaca and Tel Aviv can change their trip without a rebooking fee. The measure applies to tickets purchased until March 18th, with boarding scheduled for June 1st. Customers also have the option to cancel the ticket and request a refund;
- – The company informed that passengers with flights to and from Dubai or Tel Aviv can change their trip without being charged a rebooking fee. The measure applies to tickets purchased until February 28th, with boarding scheduled until April 19th. Customers also have the option to cancel the ticket and request a refund;
- – The company reported that it canceled flights between New York (JFK) and Tel Aviv until March 31 and in the opposite direction until April 1, due to the conflict in the region. The route between Israel and Atlanta will resume in August. Affected passengers can reschedule their trip without a fee or cancel their ticket and request a refund.
CLIMBING IN TENSION
The event was held after weeks of tension between the 2 countries. On February 19, Trump stated that, within 10 days, he would know whether to give “one step forward” in relation to an attack against the Persian country.
Afterwards, the Republican declared that everyone, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, Dan Caine, considers that a possible war against Iran would result in one.
In , on February 24, Trump said that the US had not yet heard Iran pronounce “those magic words: ‘we will never have a nuclear weapon’”. In his speech, the American president stated that the Persian regime “has already developed missiles that could threaten Europe and our bases abroad, and is working to build missiles that will soon reach the USA”.
Trump’s statements were made while dealing with Iran, which did not result in an agreement.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the country if the Americans recognized its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes and lifted economic sanctions.
Read more about Israel and the US attack on Iran:
