In a sudden turnaround that highlights the Middle Eastern skies’ weakness, five of the UAE‘s top carriers have all prolonged their suspensions to Iran, Iraq, and Israel well into the summer. Emirates, flydubai, Etihad Airways, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, and Air Arabia are steadfastly focusing on ensuring passenger safety in a region shaken by ongoing battles and tense ceasefires.
- The globe’s largest international airline, Emirates, with a fleet of more than 270 wide-body planes, has suspended flights to Tehran, Baghdad, and Basra until June 30, 2025. That’s roughly 30,000 seats per week going unused on routes that were previously filled with trade missions and tourists.
- Flydubai, Dubai’s nimble low-cost challenger, has followed suit, grounding flights to Iran, Iraq, Syria—and even St. Petersburg—through the end of June. The airline warned travelers that connecting through Dubai on these suspended routes is off the table for now.
- Etihad Airways, the jewel of Abu Dhabi and the seat of the legendary Residence Suite, is postponing its Tel Aviv services until July 15, 2025. Travelers hoping to connect in Abu Dhabi to onward flights into “red-zone” places will be forced to make alternative arrangements; Etihad vows to assist with rebooking or rerouting where applicable.
- Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, a subsidiary of the Budapest-based operator, has halted all departures in the region until June 30 due to ongoing security alerts.
- The Middle East’s oldest and the world’s largest low-cost carrier, Air Arabia, cancelled Iran, Iraq, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan flights until June 30—and temporarily cancelled its flights to Jordan until June 26.
Why, then? While Tehran and Tel Aviv just finalized a plan to de-escalate, the skies over the region are still a minefield of potential flare-ups. During the first week of June alone, military drones were intercepted over Iraqi skies, and cross-border shelling shook the Iran–Israel border, with dozens of daily flights being quickly re-routed.
To travelers weighing religious pilgrimages to Najaf or business trips to Tehran, these suspensions are more than a calendar inconvenience—they’re a reminder that geopolitics still throws the longest shadow over global aviation. As Emirates’ CEO explained this week, simply: “No aircraft is worth risking human life.”
What can be done? Booked travelers on impacted routes need to sift airline apps and accepted social media sites, monitor other likely hubs (i.e., Istanbul or Doha), or reschedule discretionary travel until the weather clears. With well over 800 a day of landings or takeoffs in the UAE prior to crisis mode, reroutings are possible but with some amount of flexibility—and perhaps a pinch of wanderlust for an unexpected layover.
In a world where the horizon is forever in flux, one thing is not: airlines will always play it safe. After all, a peaceful mind in the cabin starts long before takeoff.
