Wizz Air has postponed the planned restart of its Abu Dhabi and Dubai routes, cancelling all flights to and from both destinations for the winter season.
The airline had planned to operate UAE flights from October 25 to March 27. The low-cost airline said last month that it was resuming flights to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, alongside routes to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Amman in Jordan.
The airline had said this week it would delay the launch of some routes to Abu Dhabi until January, following security updates from Europe's aviation regulator.
"Regional airspace restrictions extended on September 30 require significantly longer routings to these destinations, increasing flight times and costs and making both A321neo and A321XLR operations commercially unviable under current conditions," the airline said in a statement to The National.
It also confirmed that flights to and from Amman are affected by the EU Aviation Safety Agency's latest conflict zone information bulletin, which recommends that airlines do not operate within Jordanian airspace.
"We regret the disruption to travel plans and will continue to monitor developments, reassessing operations as safety guidance and operating conditions evolve," Wizz Air said.
International airlines have been forced to adjust schedules for Middle East flights in the aftermath of the US-Iran war as airspace restrictions persist.
Wizz Air suspended its European-operated services to the Middle East in late February due to the regional conflict.
The UAE services were part of a wider restoration of 12 routes and 49 weekly flights to the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan over the winter, providing 470,000 seats across services to nine European cities.
The airline was set to resume operations after its low-cost subsidiary, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, ceased operations in September 2025.
