UAE airlines cancel Iraq, Iran and Jordan flights for two days after missile attacks in region

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Emirates Airline and flydubai on Tuesday cancelled all flights to Iraq, Iran and Jordan scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in response to rising tensions in the region.

The Dubai-based airlines had earlier extended the suspension of routes to and from Beirut until October 8 as Israel began an incursion into southern Lebanon.

The region appeared to be on the verge of further escalation after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday night, with Israel threatening counterstrikes in response.

“Emirates is cancelling all flights to and from Iraq (Basra and Baghdad), Iran (Tehran), and Jordan (Amman) on October 2 and 3,” Emirates said on its website.

“Customers transiting through Dubai with final destinations in Iraq, Iran, and Jordan will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin until further notice.

“We continue to closely monitor the situation in the region and are in contact with the relevant authorities regarding developments.”

Abui Dhabi-based Etihad Airways announced on Wednesday morning that it was cancelling its flight service to Tel Aviv.

“Etihad Airways has cancelled its service to Tel Aviv on October 2 in response to continuing regional developments,” said a representative.

“Etihad is monitoring the situation across the region and continues to maintain close contact with authorities.” The affected flights are EY593 and EY594.

Those booked on the flights will be assisted with travel arrangements, said the representative.

The airline previously told The National that its services to Beirut will remain cancelled until October 8. The affected flights are EY535 and EY538.

Flydubai has also cancelled flights to Jordan, Iraq, Israel and Iran on October 2-3.

“Following airspace closures, Emirates has cancelled some flights and diverted others. We are closely monitoring the situation and are making all efforts to ensure minimal disruption to customers, while assisting those impacted,” an Emirates representative added.

“Emirates advises customers departing or arriving at Dubai International Airport to check their flight status on emirates.com for the latest information regarding their flights.”

Gulf airlines halt flights

Egyptair said it was suspending flights to Beirut indefinitely, while Jordan's flag carrier Royal Jordanian said flights to Beirut were not operating “due to the current situation”, without giving an exact time for a restart.

Iran Air and Iraqi Airways have also suspended flights to the Lebanese capital “until further notice”, local news agencies reported at the weekend.

Bahrain's flag carrier Gulf Air and Doha-based Qatar Airways have taken similar steps because of security concerns. "Due to the continuing situation in Lebanon, Qatar Airways has temporarily suspended flights to and from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport until further notice. The safety of our passengers remains our highest priority," a representative from Qatar Airways said.

The National has contacted Saudia and Gulf Air for updates.

Emirates, flydubai and Sharjah-based Air Arabia have also extended the cancellation of their services to Beirut. Flydubai flights between Dubai and Beirut will remain cancelled until October 7.

A statement from Air Arabia read: “Due to the current situation, flights to Beirut from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi remain suspended.”

Passengers transiting through Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Beirut will not be accepted for flights, the UAE airlines said, adding that they continue to monitor the situation and will amend flight schedules accordingly.

“We continue to closely monitor the situation in Lebanon and are in contact with the relevant authorities regarding developments,” an Emirates representative added.

Passengers are urged to contact their airlines for rebooking or refund options.

Lebanon's national carrier Middle East Airlines is the only airline operating from Beirut.

Israel has launched dozens of strikes on Beirut over the past week as hostilities with Hezbollah have escalated after nearly a year of low-level clashes over the war in Gaza.

Trapped in an escalating conflict, thousands of residents are struggling to flee the violence, which has killed more than 1,000 people in the past two weeks. Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Sunday that up to one million people have been displaced.

Many countries, including the UK, US France and Ireland, are calling on their nationals to leave. On Saturday the European Commission and the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued conflict zone information bulletins recommending that airlines avoid operating in the airspaces of Lebanon and Israel “at all flight levels”.

Diversions due to Iranian rockets on October 1

Airports

Istanbul 19
Cairo 10
Ankara 8

Airlines

Qatar Airways 29
Emirates 26
Kuwait Airways 5

Source: FlightRadar24

Cancelled flights:

EK945/EK946 Dubai – Basrah – Dubai
EK2444/EK2445 Dubai – Basrah – Dubai
EK941/EK942 Dubai – Baghdad – Dubai
EK2072/EK2073 Dubai – Baghdad – Dubai
EK977/EK978 Dubai – Tehran – Dubai
EK971/EK972 Dubai – Tehran – Dubai
EK979/EK980 Dubai – Tehran – Dubai
EK904/EK905 Dubai – Amman – Dubai
EK2056/EK2057 Dubai – Amman – Dubai
EK837/838 Dubai – Bahrain – Dubai
EK855/86 Dubai – Kuwait – Dubai
EK31/32 Dubai – London Heathrow – Dubai
EK866/867 Dubai – Muscat – Dubai

This article is being updated by The National as the situation develops.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”