International flights bound for the Middle East continue to be suspended or rerouted as tension simmers between the US and Iran.
Concerns are high that the US is planning to launch another attack after President Donald Trump said on Thursday that an “armada” was headed towards Iran, but hoped he would not have to use it. Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene if Iran continued to kill protesters, but the countrywide demonstrations have since abated. The US carried out a series of attack on the country's nuclear bases last June, leading to heightened tension in the wider region.
Iran, meanwhile, said it would respond forcefully to any attack.
Dutch carrier KLM, which suspended flights to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel over the weekend, said its flights to Dubai are cancelled until Wednesday, January 28. The airline will operate a limited number of flights to Dubai on Friday, January 30, but said that departure times may change or flights may still be cancelled.
KLM flights to Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia have resumed, but flights to Tel Aviv in Israel remain suspended.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and adjust our schedule where needed,” the airline said on its website.
Earlier this week, German carrier Lufthansa said it was suspending services to Iranian capital Tehran until March 29, while its subsidiary Austrian Airlines extended its cancellations to February 16. The airline has also switched all its overnight flights to Tel Aviv in Israel and Amman in Jordan to daytime flights until further notice.
The change was due to the risk of combat drone activity at night, it said.
Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo said its flights to and from Tbilisi in Georgia, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Baku in Azerbaijan and Tashkent in Uzbekistan will remain suspended until February 11 as a precaution.
“Taking into account developments around Iran, we have made additional adjustments to the schedule of some flights. We are taking a cautious and proactive approach, with customer and crew safety as our highest priority,” the airline said.
Regional airlines including Emirates, Etihad Airways and Air Arabia are operating as usual.
