Emirates on Saturday said it resumed operations after its flights were temporarily suspended earlier in the day following disruption caused by debris from Iranian missiles intercepted over the UAE.
The airline instructed passengers who have confirmed bookings for Saturday's later flights to go to the airport, it said in a statement on X. This includes passengers transiting in Dubai if their connecting flights are also operating, it said.
Emirates resumed operations after it briefly suspended flights “until further notice” for about 30 minutes when it urged passengers not to go to the airport.
Dubai International Airport (DXB), the world’s busiest hub for international travel, also temporarily suspended operations.
In tandem with Emirates, DXB later said it “partially resumed” operations on Saturday with some flights operating out of DXB and Dubai's second hub Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC).
Emirates planes bound for Dubai were in a holding pattern on Saturday morning, FlightRadar showed. This came after authorities dealt with a “minor incident” resulting from falling debris from an interception by air defence systems, Dubai Media Office said.
The brief disruption happened a day after Emirates said it expects to fully resume its network operations in the coming days, following a week-long suspension in commercial scheduled flights during the Iran attacks.
Emirates has not yet disclosed the financial cost of the week-long pause in its commercial operations.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said on Friday it planned to resume a limited schedule of flights starting on March 6 operating between the UAE capital and destinations across the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
In the short term it plans to operate to and from about 70 destinations, it said.
Qatar Airways has said it will operate repatriation flights on Saturday after the country's civil authority was able to operate a safe air corridor.
Recovery scenarios
Analysts said that the Gulf airlines are well-positioned to recover from the crisis.
“Recovery to normal level of operations can happen within a week after airspace closures are removed,” Raman Singla, director of corporates at Fitch Ratings, told The National.
“The financial impact from a longer crisis depends upon how much liquidity an airline has or can procure during the period of operational curtailment,” he said. “This is because an airline can still incur 50 per cent to 60 per cent of costs that it used to have when operating regularly.”
Having sufficient liquidity will be a key factor in determining how long airlines can withstand the crisis, as "they will be burning cash” if the conflict lasts more than one week, he added.
In Fitch Ratings' baseline scenario of the Iran conflict lasting fewer than four weeks, the credit ratings agency expects most of the larger Middle East carriers to recover well, it said in a report on March 6.
"The impact will be greater for local Gulf-based carriers, due to direct network disruption, than for more diversified European airlines,” it said.
"Higher fuel costs – only partly mitigated by hedging – and potentially rising inflation, and the resultant impact on operating costs and passenger demand, will be felt across the whole industry.”
Europe-Asia flights
Large Asian carriers such as Singapore Air and Cathay Pacific are the best placed to meet the demand for flights between Europe and Asia that bypass the Middle East as a transit point amid the US-Israel-Iran conflict, analysts say.
With Gulf super-connectors Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways suspending commercial scheduled flights, this gap creates an opportunity for competitors that can fly non-stop between Europe and Asia, analysts say.
"Air fares between Europe and Asia have increased sharply since the conflict began. This is largely due to reduced flight capacity and higher operating costs,” Nolwenn Allano, chief commercial officer at global insurance brokerage and risk management company EIRS, told The National.
"With many Middle East routes suspended or rerouted, fewer seats are available on one of the world’s busiest travel corridors.”
Airlines are also facing higher war-risk insurance charges and rising fuel prices, which are being passed on to passengers.
However, these increases are often temporary with airlines adjusting their networks quickly by adding flights through other routes, Mr Allano said.
Air cargo flows
The UAE and Qatar are major hubs for maritime and air freight, handling large volumes of goods in trans-shipment between Asia, Europe and Africa through their ports, free zones, warehouses and airports.
A large portion of all air freight flies as belly cargo in passenger planes of airlines such as Emirates and Qatar Airways, consisting mainly of high-value goods, perishables and time-sensitive items.
"Reduced Middle Eastern carrier capacity does tighten global cargo supply, particularly on Europe-Asia lanes, affecting both freighters and passenger belly hold,” Scott Wilcox, founder and senior adviser of UAE-based travel risk management company Sicuro Group, told The National.
"Time-sensitive cargo – pharmaceuticals, perishables – faces the most acute near-term pressure, but it is being actively managed – the UAE is extremely well prepared for this scenario.”
However, for routing cargo – hubs in South Asia and Europe are experiencing increased demand and higher yield as a result, he added.
Charter flights
Sicuro, which specialises in advising companies on travel risks, said that the war has resulted in an increase in demand for charter flights, with Muscat emerging as the primary alternative hub for UAE, followed by Saudi Arabia.
"Companies relying solely on commercial airlines for staff evacuation are exposed to last-mile failure – in the corporate context airlines have to prioritise their own operational recovery, not your organisations,” Mr Wilcox said.
"Charter and ground contingency options are being actively used.
For Gulf-based companies, the war impact has primarily been operational – flight disruption, slower logistics, and increased management focus on travel advisories, he said.
"If it persists, just-in-time supply chains and aviation-dependent sectors face the most pressure,” according to Mr Wilcox. "Companies running lean inventory with Gulf routing need to be stress-testing alternative routes now.”
