A dozen airlines have pulled out of Dubai and Abu Dhabi deep into the winter schedule
Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and others have suspended Gulf services with resumption dates running from September to January. Indian carriers are still flying.
Who is suspended, and until when
Gulf News reported on 5 September that a long list of foreign carriers has suspended services to the United Arab Emirates, with resumption dates now stretching across the whole winter schedule. As printed: Air France has extended its Dubai suspension through 8 September; Philippine Airlines is out of Manila–Dubai until 2 October; Singapore Airlines, ITA Airways, Finnair (Helsinki–Dubai), airBaltic and Lufthansa with Eurowings and SWISS are suspended until 24 October; British Airways has Dubai and Abu Dhabi suspended with Dubai scheduled to resume on 25 October; Cathay Pacific is out of Dubai and Riyadh through 30 November; and Air Canada is suspended until mid-January 2027.
Three carriers have given no end date at all: Korean Air on Incheon–Dubai, Virgin Atlantic on London–Dubai, and Pegasus across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The report attributes the disruption to the US–Iran conflict and to a security situation that continues to affect flight schedules and airspace operations.
Who is still flying
The same report lists Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, flynas, Jazeera Airways and — importantly for readers here — Air India, Air India Express and IndiGo as operating. Emirates is running its Bahrain and Kuwait services normally and flydubai reports Kuwait and Bahrain flights as scheduled. Etihad is described as mostly operating normally, with delays reported on Karachi, Delhi, Peshawar and Kochi. Air Arabia has cancelled a number of Kuwait and Bahrain flights.
What it means for Indian travellers
The direct India–UAE market is not the problem: the Indian carriers are flying and a holiday to Dubai itself can go ahead. The problem is the connection. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the two hubs most Indian itineraries use to reach Europe, the UK and North America on a single ticket, and a dozen of the airlines that fly the second leg are not operating them for most of the winter.
If you are holding a booking that transits the Gulf between now and January, check with the operating carrier rather than assuming the schedule stands, and be wary of self-transfer itineraries built from two separate tickets. Where you can, look at a one-stop alternative through Doha, Istanbul or a European hub. Gulf News advises passengers to arrive at least three hours before departure, four hours for flydubai, to complete online check-in, and to check flight status before setting out.
Sources
This report is based on the following published sources. Rules and schedules change — confirm with the issuing authority before you travel.
- UAE flights: Emirates, Etihad, Air Arabia and flydubai delays and cancellations as Air France extends Dubai suspension — Gulf News, 05 September 2026
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