Travel across the region has been affected throughout June as conflict between Israel, Iran and the US came to a head.
With daily – sometimes even hourly – changes to airline schedules, open airspace and airports, passengers have been meticulously tracking travel updates, adjusting plans and packing with the likelihood of delays in mind.
While many destinations have been affected – the UAE's airspace was closed on the night of June 23 – some key travel and transit cities have seen greater disruption since the onset of Israel's bombardment of Gaza and its neighbours.
For passengers travelling from the UAE to Beirut, Amman, Tehran and Tel Aviv, here is the latest on route suspensions and cancellations.
Beirut
With on-and-off conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, flights to Lebanon's capital have suffered regular disruptions.
Currently, Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport is open, and the following UAE carriers are operating flights to the capital: Etihad Airways, Emirates Airline, flydubai, Air Arabia and Wizz Air.
Elsewhere, German carrier Lufthansa and Romanian airline Tarom – which previously suspended flights – each state they will resume flights to Beirut from July 1.
Amman
Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan's capital is currently open and operating.
The following UAE carriers are flying to and from Amman: Etihad, Emirates, flydubai, Air Arabia and Wizz Air.
However, operations from European cities to Amman on Wizz Air continued to be suspended until September 15.
Other international flights to the city also remain on hold. Tarom will halt flights until July; British Airways has cancelled the route from London until July 11; Greek carrier Aegean Airlines has put a pause on flights to and from Amman until September 8; and Irish carrier Ryanair has cancelled flights until October 25.
Tehran
Exchanging crossfire with Israel and striking a US military base in Qatar, Iran has been massively affected by the ongoing conflict.
However, the country has now expanded access by reopening its central and western airspace to international transit flights.
The Emirates Airline website states: “Due to the regional situation, Emirates has cancelled all the flights to and from Tehran until and including July 5, 2025.”
The flydubai's website states “no fares available for the selected route at the moment”, for between Dubai and Tehran, with the first flight available to book outbound on July 11.
Air Arabia's first flight, from Sharjah to Tehran, leaves on August 1, with no flights listed from Abu Dhabi. An update on June 25 on the carrier's website reads: “As regional airspace continues to open, Air Arabia is gradually resuming operations on previously suspended flights. Customers are advised to visit airarabia.com to check the latest updates and their flight status. Affected passengers will be notified directly via SMS and email.”
Etihad and Wizz Air do not list Tehran as one of their destinations.
A statement on Qatar Airways, effective as of June 22, reads: “Flights to Iran remain temporarily suspended. Qatar Airways continues to monitor the situation and will provide further updates as they become available.”
Lufthansa has paused the route until and including July 31.
Tel Aviv
Numerous airlines have cancelled routes to Tel Aviv amid Israel's strikes on Gaza since October 2023, and more suspended routes as the nation exchanges crossfire with Iran in June.
Israeli airspace was temporarily closed on June 13, opening once again on June 24. However, several airlines in the UAE continue to pause their routes to the capital.
Etihad has cancelled services to and from Tel Aviv until and including July 15.
Wizz Air has suspended all flights to and from Israel's Ben Gurion Airport until further notice.
While Emirates is not operating flights directly, its website lists flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv as operational via sister airline flydubai. Air Arabia doesn't list Israel as one of its destinations.
International airlines have also cancelled rights to the Israeli capital. These include:
- Lufthansa until July 31
- Italy's ITA Airways until July 31
- Air Europa until July 31
- IAG-owned British Airways until July 31
- US carrier Delta Air Lines says flights may be impacted until August 31
- Aegean Airlines until September 8
- Air Canada until September 8
- Latvia's airBaltic until September 30
As the situation continues to change rapidly, it's best to check directly with airlines for flight status and travel advice.
