Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Emirati airlines resumed some flights to key global cities from the United Arab Emirates on Friday as widespread regional disruptions continued following the outbreak of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.
Flights resume amid continued airspace restrictions
The conflict has led to flight cancellations across the Middle East, leaving airlines and governments scrambling to support stranded passengers. With most airspace in the region still closed over missile and drone concerns, authorities have been arranging charter flights and securing seats on limited commercial services to evacuate tens of thousands of travellers.
Passengers have been paying large sums to leave the Middle East, and some who returned by commercial flight on Thursday from Oman said it had been “absolute chaos” trying to get home from Dubai.
Air France repatriation flight turned back
Tensions remained high after a government-chartered Air France repatriation flight was forced to turn back on Thursday due to missile fire in the area. French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said the disruption “reflects the instability in the region and the complexity of repatriation operations”.
Repatriation efforts in Britain, Poland and Portugal
Britain’s first repatriation flight from Oman landed at London’s Stansted Airport early on Friday after being rescheduled due to operational issues, including delays in boarding passengers.
In Poland, the first group of citizens evacuated by military airlift also arrived home on Friday, according to the Polish Armed Forces’ operational command. Portugal’s foreign ministry said a charter flight carrying 139 Portuguese citizens and eight foreigners was due to land in Lisbon.
Airline outlook and operational impacts
With the conflict showing little sign of easing, wider aviation and air cargo disruption looked set to linger. Shares in carriers from New Zealand to Japan have slid as the conflict drives up fuel prices.
Lufthansa on Friday flagged an uncertain outlook due to geopolitics despite better-than-expected results. “The war in the Middle East proves once again how exposed air traffic is, and how vulnerable it remains,” CEO Carsten Spohr said. One of the carrier’s flights to Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh was forced on Friday to divert to Cairo in Egypt due to the regional security situation.
How has the regional airspace disruption affected your travel plans?