Emirates cancels flights to Tehran but resumes services to Basra and Baghdad

Airline extends its suspension of Beirut flights until October 15 and flydubai until October 31

A Middle East Airlines plane takes off from Beirut as smoke rises over Dahieh. Reuters

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Services to Iran from the UAE have been cancelled, Emirates Airline announced on Tuesday, withdrawing an earlier update that it would restart operations.

In its latest travel update, the Dubai-based carrier said flights to and from Iran will remain cancelled until October 15.

Meanwhile, flights to Basra and Baghdad restarted as announced earlier following "an operational review". "Customers transiting through Dubai with final destinations in Iraq will be accepted for travel," the airline said.

Emirates has extended its suspension of Beirut flights until October 15, while flydubai operations will remain suspended until the end of October.

On Monday, airports in Iran resumed operations after grounding all flights briefly on Sunday in response to the conflict in the region. Flights from airports across Iran resumed six hours before the restrictions were initially scheduled to be lifted on Monday, the state-run news agency Irna reported.

Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation had announced operations would be suspended from 9am local time on Sunday until 6am on Monday. “After ensuring favourable and safe flight conditions by the Civil Aviation Organisation, all announced restrictions are removed and airlines are allowed to carry out flight operations,” state media reported.

Iranian authorities announced the move because of operational restrictions. Notices sent to pilots showed exemptions for “emergency flights, ferry flights and state aircraft”. The measures were imposed days after Iran restricted flights on October 1, after it launched hundreds of missiles at Israel.

Flights to Iran and Iraq

Emirates Airline said flights to Tehran have been cancelled on Tuesday. “Customers transiting through Dubai with final destinations in Iran will not be accepted for travel until October 15,” it added.

Flydubai told The National last week that it was resuming flights to Iraq from October 4. “We are monitoring the situation closely and will amend our flight schedule if required,” the airline spokesperson said.

Flights to Lebanon

Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport resumed operations on Monday morning after a pause from Sunday until Monday. Most international flights to and from Lebanon are suspended, although the national carrier Middle East Airlines is operating some services.

Flydubai has cancelled flights between Beirut and Dubai until October 31.

Emirates said flights to and from Beirut would be suspended up to and including October 15.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways told The National that it cancelled services to and from Beirut up to and including October 11. The affected flights are EY535 and EY538. “Etihad is monitoring the situation across the region and continues to maintain close contact with authorities,” a representative for the airline said. Neither airline will accept transiting passengers from Beirut “until further notice”.

Meanwhile, flydubai has cancelled flights between Beirut and Dubai until October 31.

Air Arabia said operations to Beirut from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi remain suspended until further notice.

Other Gulf carriers, including Egyptair, Jordan's flag carrier Royal Jordanian, Iran Air, Iraqi Airways, Qatar Airways and Bahrain's Gulf Air have taken similar steps because of security concerns.

Flights to Israel

Etihad resumed service to Tel Aviv last Thursday. “The airline is closely monitoring the situation and remains in constant communication with relevant authorities and security intelligence providers,” a representative said.

Emirates suspended all flights to and from Tel Aviv in November, 2023. flydubai previously stated its flights to Israel would resume on Friday, October 4.