More than per week into the US and Iran’s agreed two-week ceasefire, flight disruption throughout the Middle East is constant to stabilise. Following the announcement of the ceasefire on Tuesday, 7 April, Bahrain and Iraq’s airspace reopened for the first time since the begin of the battle, with carriers Gulf Air and Iraqi Airways resuming restricted operations.
While journey has remained regular in latest days, many travellers will nonetheless have questions on Dubai and Middle East flight disruption, as the US and Iran failed to achieve an settlement to completely finish the battle throughout talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday, 11 April. And with the US at present finishing up a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, the state of affairs stays unclear.
However, the area’s main airways, together with Emirates, Etihad, flydubai and Qatar, have been slowly growing their flight schedules over the previous few weeks, with networks anticipated to additional develop in the coming weeks.
Airspace in Kuwait and Iran stays closed, whereas in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, flights are working by way of managed aviation corridors. Flight cancellations and delays for industrial plane will seemingly proceed all through the ceasefire.
As a results of the ongoing disruption, a number of worldwide airways have adjusted their schedules, suspending routes to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and elements of the Middle East for months to come back.
Here’s what travellers with Middle East flights booked must know proper now.
This article was up to date with the latest data on Friday, 17 April 2026
Everything it’s worthwhile to learn about what influence the conditional ceasefire could have on flights, airspace and the wider Middle East
Which airways are working in the Middle East?
All airways with flights into airports in closed or restricted airspace are at present working with diminished and restricted schedules, together with routes headed for Dubai International Airport, Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, Bahrain International Airport, Doha’s Hamad International Airport, Kuwait International Airport, Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport and Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
Emirates: Emirates is at present operating a diminished flight schedule “because of the regional state of affairs”. The Dubai-based provider is advising passengers to “check your flight status, even after you have checked in”. Customers who are booked to travel until Thursday, 30 April, can request a refund or rebook on another flight until Monday, 15 June. “We’ll do our best to rebook you on the next available Emirates flight,” the airline says. “This applies to most disrupted tickets, including journeys connecting beyond Dubai.” Emirates additionally lately up to date its rebooking coverage to offer passengers further peace of thoughts, providing one free date change on fares booked after 2 April. According to Flightradar24, Emirates is working at 70 per cent of its normal schedule.
Etihad Airways: Etihad is working a restricted schedule to 80 locations. As per Flightradar24, this equates to 65 per cent of its pre-war schedule. Tickets at the moment are on sale through the Etihad website to a number of locations throughout the globe, with further locations set to be added as “conditions permit”. Passengers with earlier bookings will probably be accommodated on these flights as quickly as potential. Passengers with Etihad flight tickets issued on or after Friday, 6 March, for journey scheduled as much as 31 March 2027, could change their reserving as soon as and not using a rebooking price.