Stock Markets March 11, 2026

Airlines Extend Widespread Cancellations as Middle East Airspace Closes

Closure of major Gulf hubs leaves tens of thousands of travellers stranded and forces airlines to suspend or cut schedules across routes to and from the region

By Nina Shah
Airlines Extend Widespread Cancellations as Middle East Airspace Closes

Global air traffic is facing significant disruption after the conflict in Iran prompted the closure of major Middle Eastern air hubs, including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. Tens of thousands of passengers are affected as carriers worldwide suspend or reduce services to destinations across the region. The following lists current cancellations and limited operations by carrier, presented in alphabetical order, with the latest reinstatement dates provided by each airline where available.

Key Points

  • Major Middle Eastern hubs including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi have been closed following the conflict in Iran, causing widespread cancellations and stranding tens of thousands of passengers.
  • Carriers across Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East have suspended or reduced services to destinations such as Tel Aviv, Dubai, Riyadh, Doha and others, with specific suspension dates issued by individual airlines.
  • The disruption affects the airlines and broader travel sector - including airports, routing and passenger operations - as carriers operate limited or no services on many routes.

Global air transport continues to face severe disruption after the conflict in Iran led to the closure of major Middle Eastern hubs - including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi - resulting in tens of thousands of passengers being stranded. Airlines from Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East have announced widespread cancellations and curtailed schedules.

The list below details the status of affected services by airline, presented in alphabetical order and reflecting the latest available return or suspension dates indicated by each carrier.

  • AEGEAN AIRLINES - Greece's largest carrier cancelled services to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Erbil and Baghdad until March 29. Flights to Dubai are suspended until March 28 and flights to Riyadh are cancelled until March 14.
  • AIR BALTIC - Latvia's airBaltic said all flights to and from Tel Aviv would be cancelled until March 28. In addition, all services to and from Dubai have been cancelled until March 16.
  • AIR CANADA - The Canadian carrier cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until May 2 and all flights to Dubai until March 28.
  • AIR EUROPA - The Spanish airline has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until March 20.
  • AIR FRANCE KLM - Air France has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut through March 15 and to Dubai and Riyadh until March 14. KLM announced suspension of flights to Riyadh and Dammam until March 12, suspension of flights to Dubai until March 28 and that flights to Tel Aviv were suspended for the remainder of its winter season.
  • CATHAY PACIFIC - The Hong Kong carrier said it had cancelled all flights to and from Dubai and to and from Riyadh until March 31.
  • DELTA - The U.S. carrier has cancelled flights from New York to Tel Aviv until March 22 and flights from Tel Aviv to New York until March 23.
  • EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES - El Al and Sundor regular flights were cancelled until March 14.
  • EMIRATES - The UAE airline said it was operating a reduced flight schedule.
  • ETIHAD AIRWAYS - The UAE carrier said it resumed a limited commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi and a number of key destinations.
  • FINNAIR - The Finnish carrier has cancelled flights to Doha and Dubai until March 29 and is avoiding the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel. The airline said it would operate at least one flight to Muscat on March 10 to repatriate customers and planned additional flights later in the week to bring passengers home.
  • IAG - IAG-owned British Airways cancelled all flights to Abu Dhabi until later this year and cancelled all flights to Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv until later this month. IAG also said it planned flights for BA customers from Muscat from March 9-12. IAG's low-cost airline, Iberia Express, cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv through March 10.
  • ITA AIRWAYS - ITA Airways has suspended flights to Tel Aviv until April 2 and extended cancellations to Dubai until March 15.
  • JAPAN AIRLINES - Japan Airlines suspended Tokyo-Doha flights scheduled from February 28 to March 21 and suspended Doha-Tokyo flights until March 22.
  • LOT - The Polish airline said all flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai were cancelled until March 28. LOT also cancelled flights to Riyadh until March 16 and to Beirut from March 31 to April 30.
  • LUFTHANSA GROUP - The German airline group, which comprises Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Brussels Airlines, suspended flights to Tel Aviv through April 2 and to Beirut through March 28. Flights to Tehran were suspended through April 30 and services to Amman, Erbil, Dammam, Dubai and Abu Dhabi were suspended until March 15.
  • MALAYSIA AIRLINES - The Malaysian carrier suspended all flights to Doha until March 13. It resumed normal operations to and from Jeddah and Madinah from March 8.
  • NORWEGIAN AIR - The Nordic airline adjusted its schedule, now planning to fly to Tel Aviv and Beirut from June 15, instead of the previously planned April 1 and April 4 start dates.
  • PEGASUS - Pegasus Airlines cancelled its Iran flights until March 28 and its Riyadh flights until March 10. Flights to Iraq, Amman, Beirut, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are cancelled until March 23.
  • QATAR AIRWAYS - Qatar Airways said it is operating a limited flight schedule to and from Doha, with the intention of operating some flights from March 9 following temporary authorisation from the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority.
  • SAUDIA AIRLINES - The Saudi airline suspended flights to Amman, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Bahrain until March 10 and suspended flights to Moscow and Peshawar until March 15. The carrier also began operating a limited schedule to Dubai.
  • TURKISH AIRLINES - Turkish Airlines removed Iran flights from its programme until March 12, the Turkish transport minister said. He added that all Turkish Airlines flights to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan were cancelled until March 13.
  • WIZZ AIR - The low-cost airline suspended flights to Israel until March 29 and suspended flights from mainland European destinations to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Amman and Jeddah through to the middle of September.

Passengers affected by these cancellations face a range of outcomes depending on carrier policies and the destinations involved. Several airlines have published specific return or suspension dates for affected routes while others have announced limited operations or reduced schedules without detailing the full timeline for a return to normal service.


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Information in this account is limited to the announcements made by the carriers and authorities cited above. Where airlines have provided specific dates for resumption or continued suspension, those dates are reported exactly as issued. For carriers describing "limited" or "reduced" schedules, the precise extent and timing of restored services were not specified beyond the statements noted.

Risks

  • Uncertainty over the duration of airspace closures and reduced schedules - several airlines have only provided short-term suspension windows or described operations as "limited" without full timelines, creating continued travel risk for the aviation and travel sectors.
  • Potential cascading disruptions for global passenger flows as major hubs remain closed - extended closures could further impact bookings, airline schedules and airport operations, particularly for carriers reliant on Gulf transit points.
  • Incomplete operational details from carriers describing reduced schedules - lacking full resumption plans increases uncertainty for passengers, cargo operations and market participants in the airline and tourism sectors.

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