Limited Middle East flight window opens

Thousands have managed to leave the region on commercial flights from key hubs in the United Arab Emirates – however, the situation remains challenging as the conflict intensifies and flight schedules remain in disarray

Mar 5, 2026 - 18:10 Updated: Mar 5, 2026 - 18:11

The graphic design, used for representational purpose has been taken from CNN.

The logjam of passengers trapped by war in the Middle East is starting to clear as airlines schedule new services and governments rally charter flights to transport citizens to destinations outside the region.

Thousands have managed to leave the region on commercial flights from key hubs in the United Arab Emirates – however, the situation remains challenging as the conflict intensifies and flight schedules remain in disarray, reports CNN.

The first US-facilitated charter flight of Americans left the Middle East on Wednesday, and “additional flights will be surged throughout the region,” said the State Department.

Emotional scenes of reunions at airports around the world speak to the anxiety families have been feeling over the last several days.

Here’s what travelers need to know.

What is the current aviation situation

Thousands of international flights have been canceled each day since Sunday, according to data from FlightAware.com, with the chaos likely to continue this week for those still struggling to get out.

The Middle East is home to several major airlines, including Emirates and Etihad in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and Qatar Airways, based in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Emirates and Qatar Airways planes sit on the tarmac at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport in Sydney, Australia, March 3, 2026. Photo: Reuters

All three of those cities are major global hubs, with millions of passengers transiting through them each year.

Emirates, which had suspended all flights to and from its bases, resumed a limited number of repatriation and freight flights Monday night. All scheduled Emirates flights to and from Dubai will remain suspended until at least 11.59 p.m. UAE time on March 7, according to its website.

The Dubai Airports website advises travelers not to proceed to the airport unless they have been contacted directly by their airlines.

Qatar Airways flights to and from Doha’s Hamad International Airport remain suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace.

However, Qatar Airways announced Thursday it will start operating a limited number of relief flights departing from neighboring countries to aid stranded passengers. In a statement posted to X, Qatar Airways said it will begin operating flights from Muscat in Oman to London Heathrow, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Rome and Amsterdam, as well as from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to Frankfurt.

Israeli flag carrier El Al is working to repatriate its customers as well, with the airline’s first rescue flight, from Athens, landing at Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv Thursday morning. “We are working to place all El Al passengers whose flights were canceled on rescue flights, at no additional cost,” said a statement from the airline.

Outside the region, other airlines continue to reroute or cancel flights that had been scheduled to fly near the conflict zone. German airline Lufthansa, for instance, has suspended regular flights to and from Dubai until March 6. It has also suspended flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil, Dammam, and Tehran until March 8.

What are governments advising

The State Department has urged US citizens to leave a number of countries in the Middle East “due to serious safety risks.”

The State Department on Wednesday called on US citizens in countries including Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fill out a crisis intake form to “receive departure assistance information from the Department of State about available aviation and ground transportation options.”

Almost 3,000 Americans have called to register with the department, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on CNN on Wednesday. He added that Americans who wish to leave the region and have registered with the State Department should be ready to go as they wait for information from the department.

An earlier post on X from a State Department consular affairs official on Monday had called on US citizens to depart “using available commercial travel” from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Other nations have issued similar warnings as they work to assist stranded travelers in the region.

Canada’s government posted a notice on X advising travelers to “leave the United Arab Emirates as soon as you can secure a flight option.” It has also advised Canadians to avoid all travel to Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Palestinian territories, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar and the UAE and to avoid nonessential travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

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