UAE travel: Emirates, Etihad, flydubai restart select services; Air Arabia extends suspensions
Exceptional flights approved for stranded passengers
DUBAI – UAE airlines have begun a cautious and highly controlled return to the skies after days of sweeping disruptions triggered by regional military escalation.
Major carriers including Emirates, Etihad Airways and flydubai announced limited operations starting Monday evening, while Air Arabia has extended widespread suspensions.
Partial restart
The phased recovery follows three days of aviation paralysis after joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered retaliatory tensions and widespread airspace closures across the Middle East.
Countries including Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the UAE announced partial sky closures, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded globally.
Dubai Airports confirmed that a small number of flights have resumed at Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central.
Emirates has restarted limited flights, prioritising customers with earlier bookings and warning travellers not to head to airports without confirmation.
Etihad is operating only select repatriation, cargo and repositioning flights while keeping all scheduled commercial services suspended.
flydubai has published a list of specific flights operating on March 2 and is allowing penalty-free rebooking within 20 days.
Air Arabia remains the most restricted, suspending all UAE flights until March 3 and pausing several regional routes until March 4.
Regulatory oversight
The General Civil Aviation Authority said exceptional flights are being coordinated to help stranded passengers depart in an orderly manner.
Authorities and airlines continue to advise passengers to check directly with carriers before travelling to airports as the situation remains fluid.