Gulf flight suspensions: latest updates – Tuesday 10 March

UAE

Etihad: On 10 March, Etihad will operate 21 outbound and 25 inbound flights as bookings open for more than 70 destinations, including: 

 

Ahmedabad, Addis Ababa, Amsterdam, Athens, Atlanta, Bangkok, Barcelona, Beijing, Bengaluru, Boston, Brussels, Cairo, Casablanca, Chiang Mai, Chicago, Colombo, Copenhagen, Delhi, Denpasar (Bali), Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jakarta, Jeddah, Karachi, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Krabi, Kuala Lumpur, Lahore, London (Heathrow), Madrid, Malé, Manchester, Manila, Medina, Melbourne, Milan (Malpensa), Moscow (Sheremetyevo), Mumbai, Munich, Muscat, Nairobi, New York (JFK), Paris, Phnom Penh, Phuket, Prague, Riyadh, Rome, Seoul (Incheon), Seychelles, Singapore, St Petersburg, Sydney, Taipei, Thiruvananthapuram, Tokyo, Toronto, Vienna, Warsaw, Washington and Zurich.

 

Rebookings are available to passengers with tickets issued on or before 28 February (for travel up to 21 March) for new departure dates until 15 May. Passengers can also request refunds for all Etihad flights until 21 March. 

 

Emirates: Flights have resumed on a partial basis and travellers can now book tickets for more than 80 cities worldwide. Passengers transiting in Dubai are advised to check the status of their connecting flight before travelling. 

 

Customers facing cancellations or delays for travel between 28 February and 31 March can either request a refund or rebook on an alternate flight for travel until 30 April. Additionally, city check-in points across Dubai are closed until further notice. 

 

Flydubai: Flights are operating on a reduced schedule. Flydubai has advised passengers transiting in Dubai that they will only be allowed to travel if their connecting flight is running.  

 

Customers with tickets for travel between 28 February and 31 March rebook up to 30 days from the original departure day for free. For further enquiries, the airline can be reached at +971 600 54 44 45. 

 

Air Arabia: Flights have resumed at a reduced capacity across Air Arabia’s Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah hubs, with additional flights now up for sale. Customers impacted by flight cancellations can rebook within 15 days or request a refund or full credit voucher. 

 

In the past week, Air Arabia began select services to the following cities, with new schedule updates still pending: 

 

Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Ahmedabad, Alexandria, Amman, Assiut, Bangkok, Chittagong, Chennai, Colombo, Coimbatore, Cairo, Cairo-Sphinx, Dammam, Delhi, Dhaka, Entebbe, Faisalabad, Goa, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jaipur, Karachi, Kathmandu, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lahore, Milan-Bergamo, Mumbai, Multan, Nagpur, Nairobi, Peshawar, Quetta, Riyadh, Sialkot, Thiruvananthapuram, Trabzon and Vienna. 

 

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Bahrain

Gulf Air: On 10 March, Gulf Air will operate a special charter flight between Dammam and Karachi. The service from Dammam will cost BHD255 and depart at 14:30, whereas the flight from Karachi is priced at USD545 (BHD205) and will leave at 21:10.  

 

Gulf Air will also provide transportation between Bahrain and Dammam for passengers with confirmed bookings. Interested travellers can register online at this form.

 

All commercial services remain suspended with a further update on 10 March at 11:00 local time. Passengers with tickets for travel through 21 March are eligible for a refund or free rebooking for travel up to 15 May. Gulf Air can be reached at +973 17373737. 

 

Qatar

Qatar Airways: Commercial flights remain cancelled, however, Qatar Airways is operating select repatriation services with the following flights departing Doha on 10 March:

 

Cairo (CAI), London Heathrow (LHR), Jeddah (JED), Manila (MNL), Kochi (COK), Muscat (MCT), Istanbul (IST), Mumbai (BOM), Delhi (DEL), Nairobi (NBO), Islamabad (ISB), Madrid (MAD), Frankfurt (FRA), Colombo (CMB), Milan (MXP), Moscow (SVO).

 

Travellers with bookings between 28 February and 22 March are eligible for a free date change within 14 days from the original departure date or a refund for the unused portion of their ticket. For further questions, customers can reach the airline at +974 4144 5555. 

Saudi Arabia

Saudia Airlines: Since 7 March, flights to Dubai from the kingdom have resumed. Yet, services to Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, Amman and Kuwait are halted until 11 March at 02:59 local time. 

 

Passengers can rebook free of charge within 14 days of the airline resuming services on impacted routes. Additionally, any refund requests will be processed without cancellation fees. 

 

Travellers transiting in Riyadh or Jeddah with cancelled or delayed connecting flights can either continue travelling once services resume, request an alternative route or choose the "travel later" option to use their ticket in their future with no fees applied. 

 

Flynas: Flights to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria and Iraq are paused until 15 March at 23:59 local time. Affected customers can contact the airline at 920001234 within the kingdom or at +966114349000 internationally.

 

Flyadeal: Services to Dubai, Amman and Damascus are cancelled until 12 March. Passengers on other flights are also warned to be wary of delays, cancellations and schedule changes. 

 

Oman

Oman Air: The carrier will operate additional flights between 9 to 14 March to and from the following cities: Paris, Istanbul, Amsterdam, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Milan, Rome, Cairo, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur. 

 

Services to Dubai, Doha, Bahrain, Dammam, Kuwait, Amman, Baghdad and Khasab remain suspended until 15 March. 

 

Oman Air has also added a new service desk for passengers departing from Muscat International Airport (MCT) for ticket sales, located at Entrance C at departures. 

 

In the UAE, the airline is operating a bus service between Sharjah’s Muwasalat Al Jubail Bus Station and Muscat International until 10 March. The first shuttle will leave Sharjah at 07:00 and reach Muscat at 15:00, while the second service will depart at 13:00 and arrive at 21:00. 

 

SalamAir: The airline has introduced extra flights between Muscat and Fujairah, operating daily until 20 March. Flights depart Muscat at 08:30 and 15:35, while return services leave Fujairah at 09:55 and 17:00. Each flight takes approximately one hour.

 

Flights to Doha, Sharjah, Dammam and Kuwait are halted until 20 March, whereas services to Iraq, Iran and Lebanon are paused until 28 March. 

 

Until 10 March, impacted passengers can request a refund or rebook free of cost for travel until 30 April. Customers can contact the airline at +968 2427 2222 or via email at customercare@salamair.com. 

 

SalamAir customers are also eligible to use the Oman Air bus shuttle between Sharjah and Muscat, running until 10 March.  

Kuwait

Kuwait Airways: The carrier is extending its repatriation services via Dammam, offering new flights from Cairo, Amman and Turkey. 

 

On 10 March, the service will depart from Turkey at 11:00 and arrive at 15:00. On 11 March, the Cairo service will fly at 11:00 and land in Dammam at 15:00. On 12 March, the Amman flight will leave at 12:00, reaching at 14:20.

 

Interested travellers can contact the airline’s call centre at 171 or reach out via Whatsapp at +965 1802050. Passengers are advised to ensure they have a transit visa to travel through Saudi Arabia. 

 

All commercial services are halted until further notice.  

 

Jazeera Airways: Services remain suspended until 12 March at 10:00 local time amid the closure of Kuwait’s airspace. Jazeera Airways will share a new update on 11 March at 09:00 local time.

 

Passengers are advised to email the airline at customer.relations@jazeerairways.com due to high call volumes. Rebookings and refunds can be requested on the Jazeera Airways website or mobile app. 

 

International Carriers

British Airways: Additional flights from Muscat to London Heathrow will operate between 9 to 12 March. The service is reserved for British Airways customers stranded in the UAE or Oman with an existing booking. Interested passengers can reach the airline at +44 203 467 3854. 

 

Air India/Air India Express: On 10 March, Air India and Air India Express will operate 14 flights to and from Jeddah. Air India Express will also handle 14 flights to and from Muscat. 

 

Both carriers are also expected to operate 32 additional flights to and from the UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah) on 10 March. The airline will fly to destinations such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kochi and Delhi. 

 

For cancellations and rebookings, customers are asked to submit requests on the Air India website. For additional support, they can contact the hotline at +911169329333 or +911169329999.

 

Air India

 

Spice Jet: On 10 March, the carrier will operate four flights from Dubai to the following Indian cities: Pune (departs at 00:05), Mumbai (departs at 01:55) and Delhi (one flight at 11:10 and another at 23:10). 

 

SriLankan Airlines: Daily services between Colombo and Dubai will resume on 10 March, whereas flights to Riyadh restarted on 9 March. 

 

Flights will depart Colombo at 12:40, while the return service will leave Dubai at 17:00. For Riyadh, the Colombo service will operate at 18:15, while the inbound flight will fly at 22:35.

 

Customers can contact the airline at 1979 (in Sri Lanka), +94 11 777 1979 (internationally) or WhatsApp chat at +94 74 444 1979.