Major airlines experienced significant disruption on Sunday, March 1, 2026, as tensions between the US, Israel, and Iran escalated, leading to the closure of several airspaces. Several major airlines, including Air France, Etihad Airways, Emirates, and others, have suspended their scheduled flights to ensure passenger safety.
On Sunday, Air France announced that flights scheduled to Beirut, Dubai, and Riyadh were cancelled following US-Israel strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory attacks. Read on to know about the major airlines that have suspended their flights in the Middle East region.
Air France cancels flights to Beirut, Dubai, and Riyadh
According to Al Jazeera, Air France cancelled its flights scheduled for Sunday to Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh as a result of Israeli-US strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliation.
Emirates suspends flights amid Middle East airspace restrictions
Emirates has temporarily suspended all flights to and from Dubai until 15:00 UAE time on Monday, 2 March, due to multiple regional airspace closures. The airline informed this via X post that read, "Due to multiple regional airspace closures, Emirates has temporarily suspended all operations to and from Dubai, up until 1500hrs UAE time on Monday, 2 March."
Etihad Airways suspends all flights to and from Abu Dhabi
Etihad Airways announced that all the flights to and from Abu Dhabi have been suspended until 02:00 UAE time on Monday, March 2, 2026. This move comes due to the closure of the regional airspace, which continues to impact Etihad's operations. The X post read, "Regional Airspace Disruption – Operational Update Regional airspace closures continue to impact Etihad’s operations, and all flights to and from Abu Dhabi are suspended until 02:00 UAE time on Monday 2 March."
Qatar Airways suspends flights amid Qatari airspace closure
Qatar Airways has also temporarily suspended operations due to the closure of Qatari airspace. On Sunday, the airline updated that flights will resume once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of airspace. In an X post, Qatar Airways stated, "Qatar Airways will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace. A further update will be provided on March 02 by 09:00 Doha time (06:00 UTC). Passengers are advised to monitor the latest flight information via qatarairways.com or the Qatar Airways mobile app."
Air India and Indigo suspend flights due to Iran-Israel conflict
Earlier on Sunday, Air India suspended more international flights due to the Iran-Israel conflict, which were scheduled for March 1, 2026. Moreover, Indigo Airlines also extended the temporary suspension of select international flights until March 2, 2359 hrs IST, that use Middle East airspace.
