Nearly 20 UAE flights delayed or cancelled amid renewed US-Iran tensions
Regional routes disrupted as airlines monitor security risks and changing airspace conditions
DUBAI – Flights across the UAE faced a fresh wave of delays and cancellations on Thursday, as renewed fighting between the US and Iran added to uncertainty across Middle Eastern airspace.
Nearly 20 services involving Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah were delayed or cancelled, according to available flight status information, with regional and international routes among those affected.
The disruption was not uniform, and the major UAE carriers continued to operate substantial schedules from their respective hubs. However, several arrivals and departures were running behind schedule, while a limited number of services were listed as cancelled. Individual delays or cancellations cannot automatically be attributed to the regional conflict, as operational and technical issues can also affect schedules.
Emirates
A number of Emirates arrivals at Dubai International Airport were delayed on Thursday morning, including services from Manchester, London Gatwick, Lisbon, Edinburgh, Dublin, London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Rome, Bologna and Lyon.
Several North American services were also affected, including flights from Washington, Montreal, New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Houston and San Francisco.
Other delayed arrivals included EK613 from Islamabad, EK527 from Hyderabad, EK651 from Colombo, EK375 from Bangkok, EK565 from Bengaluru, EK659 from Male, EK928 from Cairo and EK357 from Jakarta.
Separate flight status information listed EK376A from Dubai to Bangkok, EK510A to New Delhi and EK366A to Taipei as cancelled. The available information does not establish that these cancellations were directly caused by the regional security situation.
Emirates services EK837 and EK839 between Dubai and Bahrain, as well as EK857 between Dubai and Kuwait, were scheduled to operate.
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways also reported delays at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, affecting several inbound services.
Delayed arrivals included EY114 from Barcelona, EY219 and EY213 from Delhi, EY303 from Islamabad, EY844 from Moscow, EY299 from Karachi, EY247 from Ahmedabad, EY277 from Peshawar, EY343 from Chennai, EY393 from Colombo and EY770 from Nairobi.
Long-haul services including EY068 from London Heathrow, EY100 from Lisbon, EY417 from Phuket, EY405 from Bangkok and EY078 from Manchester were also showing later arrival times.
Several corresponding Etihad departures were delayed, including services bound for Moscow, Islamabad, Delhi, Karachi, Ahmedabad, Peshawar, Chennai, Colombo, Nairobi, London Heathrow, Lisbon, Phuket, Bangkok and Manchester.
Etihad's Bahrain services EY641, EY643 and EY645 were scheduled to operate, while EY653 from Abu Dhabi to Kuwait had departed in the latest available update.
flydubai
Several flydubai arrivals into Dubai were also running behind schedule.
Affected services included FZ1722 and FZ1736 from Almaty, FZ1690 from Bishkek, FZ952, FZ988 and FZ966 from Moscow, FZ920 from Jeddah, FZ1304 from Astana, FZ1716 and FZ1634 from Minsk, FZ642 from Addis Ababa, FZ1116 from Damascus, FZ816 from Abha and FZ202 from Baghdad.
Flight FZ652 from Entebbe was listed as cancelled.
Earlier flight status information also showed FZ932 to Neom delayed by two hours, while FZ910 and EK2335 were delayed by almost 20 minutes. FZ1848 to Damascus was 44 minutes late and FZ202 to Baghdad was delayed by 50 minutes.
FZ308 and EK2178 to Kabul were delayed by almost two hours, while several other regional services also experienced delays.
flydubai said it was closely monitoring the evolving situation and would adjust schedules and routings where necessary, warning passengers that delays and diversions could occur.
Air Arabia
Air Arabia services from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi were also affected.
The Sharjah-based airline cancelled G9107 to Bahrain and G9068 and G9124 to Kuwait on Thursday and Friday. Those services had already been cancelled for several weeks, although Air Arabia continued to operate other flights to the two Gulf destinations, including GG9101, G9103, G9105 and G9121.
At Zayed International Airport, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi had delayed arrivals including 3L201 from Calicut, 3L142 from Chennai, 3L134 from Trivandrum, 3L112 from Ahmedabad, 3L312 from Sialkot and 3L044 from Kathmandu.
Delayed departures included services to Trivandrum, Ahmedabad, Sialkot, Kathmandu and Tbilisi. Flight 3L715 from Abu Dhabi to Tbilisi was delayed by 54 minutes, while 3L764 to Tashkent was delayed for more than an hour.
Separate flight status information listed 3L020 from Abu Dhabi to Kuwait as cancelled.
Other UAE services
Other airlines also recorded disruption at Dubai airports. SpiceJet's SG5113 to Mumbai was cancelled, while SG5106 to New Delhi was delayed by 50 minutes. SG052 from Pune was cancelled on Wednesday.
SpiceJet SG5118 to Kochi faced a particularly lengthy delay. The flight, originally scheduled for 3:15am UAE time, was rescheduled for 7:12pm, representing a delay of almost 16 hours.
Air India flight AI4309 to New Delhi was delayed by 57 minutes, while Iran Airtour flight B9 9720 was delayed by more than an hour. Air India Express IX425 from Kochi and several other SpiceJet services were also delayed.
IndiGo flight 6E1439 from Tiruchirappalli to Abu Dhabi was delayed by 19 minutes.
Regional disruption
The impact extended beyond UAE airports, with delays and cancellations also reported in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
At Bahrain International Airport, delayed arrivals included Gulf Air services from Dubai, New York and Dhaka, alongside Air India Express flights from Kannur and Calicut. Air Arabia Abu Dhabi 3L016 to Abu Dhabi and Air India Express IX374 to Calicut were among the delayed departures.
At Kuwait International Airport, Kuwait Airways flights KAC352 from Kochi and KAC384 from Delhi were delayed, as was Pegasus Airlines PGT858 from Istanbul. Kuwait Airways departures to Lahore, Istanbul, Munich, Mykonos and Paris were also running behind schedule.
Queen Alia International Airport in Amman recorded several cancellations. Royal Jordanian flights RJ9847 from Mosul, RJ9003 and RJ9005 from Damascus were cancelled, while Turkish Airlines TK816 from Istanbul was delayed. Royal Jordanian departures RJ9008 and RJ9010 to Damascus and RJ9991 to Istanbul were also cancelled, alongside Iraqi Airways IA178 to Erbil.
US-Iran tensions
The latest disruption comes after US forces carried out strikes against targets in Iran on Tuesday, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defence sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities.
Iran subsequently launched attacks on US-linked targets across the region, including in Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait. Jordan said 13 Iranian ballistic missiles entered its airspace, while Bahrain reported intercepting Iranian drones. Kuwait's armed forces said on Thursday that its air defences were confronting further Iranian missile and drone attacks.
The heightened security environment has increased uncertainty for airlines operating across the region, even as UAE airports continue to handle substantial traffic.
A separate aviation concern has also emerged around Russian airspace. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned airlines and insurers about increased risks linked to Ukrainian drone operations inside Russia, while saying Ukraine was not targeting civilian aircraft.
Ukraine has raised concerns over Russian airspace with the International Civil Aviation Organization. Gulf airlines continue to use Russian airspace on some routes, while many European and US carriers have avoided it since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Russia has rejected Ukraine's assessment and said it would maintain the safety and stability of civilian aviation operations. Moscow's Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports also experienced delays and cancellations on Wednesday, according to flight-tracking data cited by Reuters.