Tuesday 05 May update: The UAE has partially closed its airspace after Iran launched missiles and drones over the emirates on Monday 04 May. Overflying is only permitted through certain routes and aircraft flow measures through certain paths will also be in place until 11 May, according to reports.
Emirates on Monday (4 May) announced it has restored 96 per cent of its global network after the Dubai-based airline was forced to suspend operations on 28 February following the US-Israeli strikes against Iran.
The airline stated that it has “progressively resumed services” in recent weeks and currently operates flights to 137 destinations across 72 countries, with more than 1,300 weekly frequencies. This represents 75 per cent of its pre-disruption capacity, according to the carrier.
Dubai International Airport on Monday also announced it is scaling up operations and “increasing flight movements in line with available regional routing capacity” after the UAE’s aviation authority confirmed on Saturday that previously imposed restrictions on UAE airspace have been lifted.
Dubai Airports, which operates both Dubai International (DXB) and Al Maktoum International airports, said it has now “entered the next phase of recovery operations”.
“Capacity is now primarily aligned to the availability of regional flight paths outside of the UAE, with ongoing coordination to optimise flows across neighbouring airspace,” the airport operator said in a statement.
Several European carriers, however, continue to reroute flights away from the Gulf region.
Air France has suspended its Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh flights until 10 May, while sister airline KLM won’t resume its Dubai flights until 22 June. Lufthansa Group airlines have suspended flights to Dubai and Tel Aviv until 31 May.
Finnair has cancelled its Doha flights until 2 July and will only restart its Dubai flights in October.
British Airways, meanwhile, plans to reduce services to Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv to one daily flight when services resume on 1 July.
Despite the conflict, Dubai Airports handled more than six million passengers and more than 32,000 aircraft movements between 28 February and 30 April. March passenger traffic at DXB stood at 2.5 million, down 65.7 per cent year on year.
Emirates reported carrying 4.7 million passengers between 1 March and 30 April and is currently offering enhanced booking flexibility and rewards to encourage bookings.
These includes complimentary date changes for all bookings, the ability to hold a fare for 24 hours free of charge and “accelerated access” to premium Skwards loyalty programme tiers from 1 May to 31 August 2026 through reduced tier requirements and Bonus Tier Miles.
Additionally, Emirates is offering a Dubai stopover programme to customers with extended transit times ranging from six to 26 hours. Under the scheme, eligible travellers will receive complimentary hotel stays at a 4 or 5-star property, airport transfers, meals and, if required, a UAE entry visa, according to the carrier.