Emirates and Etihad Airways were resuming limited flight schedules to key global cities from their United Arab Emirates hubs on Friday, though the threat of missile fire piled pressure on airlines as they scramble to accommodate travellers.
With most airspace in the Middle East still closed over missile and drone concerns since the start of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, authorities have been arranging charter flights and securing seats on limited commercial services to evacuate tens of thousands of people.
A government-chartered Air France (AIRF.PA), opens new tab flight to bring French nationals back from the United Arab Emirates was forced to turn back on Thursday due to missile fire in the area, French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said.
“This situation reflects the instability in the region and the complexity of repatriation operations,” he said.
Britain’s first repatriation flight from Oman landed at London’s Stansted Airport early on Friday after being rescheduled due to operational issues, including delays in boarding passengers.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad said on Friday it would resume a limited flight schedule through March 19. The flights will operate to and from Abu Dhabi and around 70 destinations including London, Paris, Frankfurt, Delhi, New York, Toronto and Tel Aviv.
As of Thursday, traffic at Dubai airport, normally the world’s busiest, had almost doubled from Wednesday, but remained only about 25% of normal levels, flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said.
Dubai-based Emirates said late on Thursday it was operating a reduced flight schedule to 82 destinations including London, Sydney, Singapore and New York until further notice, and customers transiting in Dubai would only be accepted if their connecting flight was operating.
The limited operations at Middle Eastern hubs have hit travellers on routes from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region particularly hard.
Combined, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad normally fly about one-third of passengers from Europe to Asia and more than half of all passengers from Europe to Australia, New Zealand and nearby Pacific Islands, according to Cirium data.
By Anthony Solly
