Passengers face cancellations and hours-long delays on flights to India, Iran and Oman.
Dubai: Passengers travelling through Dubai and Abu Dhabi faced cancellations and lengthy delays on Wednesday, September 23, with some flights to India running more than eight hours behind schedule. Services involving Tehran and Muscat were also affected.
Flight information showed disruptions across Dubai International Airport, Dubai World Central and Abu Dhabi, affecting both departures and arrivals on routes to destinations including Kozhikode, Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai, Tehran, Muscat, Riyadh and several European cities.
Passengers travelling on Wednesday are advised to check their latest flight status before heading to the airport, particularly if their scheduled departure time has been pushed back by several hours.
Dubai departures face long delays
Some Dubai departures were facing lengthy delays on Wednesday.
BS342D to Dhaka, scheduled to depart at 2:20am, was showing a revised departure time of 12:20pm, a delay of 10 hours.
SpiceJet flight SG5153 to Kozhikode, originally scheduled for 12pm, was listed with a revised departure time of 8:25pm. Meanwhile, SG5117 to Kochi had been pushed back from 3:40pm to 11:55pm.
Air India Express flight IX346, also listed as AI9096, was delayed from 11:55am to 1:20pm, while Saudia flight SV563 to Riyadh moved from 10:40am to 11:30am.
The supplied flight information also showed cancellations involving SpiceJet services to Kozhikode, Jaipur and Delhi, as well as a Pakistan International Airlines flight to Lahore and another SpiceJet service to Delhi later in the day.
SG5153 to Kozhikode and SG5106 to Delhi appeared in both the cancellation and delay listings. Passengers booked on these services should therefore check the latest status directly with the airline before travelling.
At Dubai World Central, TBZ6608 to Tehran, scheduled to depart at 12pm, was cancelled.
Arrivals into Dubai also affected
Several inbound flights were also running hours behind schedule on Wednesday.
SpiceJet flight SG5118 from Kochi, originally scheduled to arrive at 3:15am, was listed with a revised arrival time of 11:47am. SG5060 from Mumbai was pushed back from 11am to 7:25pm.
flydubai flight FZ1716 from Minsk was delayed from 8:25am to 1:42pm, while FZ970 from Moscow Vnukovo moved from 2:45pm to 7:06pm.
Other delayed arrivals included flights from Moscow, Edinburgh, Riyadh, Saint Petersburg, Amritsar, Islamabad, Kozhikode, Bangkok, Baghdad, Multan, Tbilisi, Los Angeles, Chisinau, Catania, Belgrade and Sarajevo.
Cancelled arrivals included TBZ6607 from Tehran at Dubai World Central, flydubai flight FZ816 from Abha and Emirates flight EK902 from Amman.
Abu Dhabi services disrupted
Passengers travelling through Abu Dhabi also faced flight changes on Wednesday.
Oman Air flight WY636 to Muscat, scheduled to depart at 8:55pm, was cancelled, while 3L431 to Cairo was delayed from 5:55pm to 7:15pm.
Inbound Etihad flight EY552 from Riyadh was delayed from 7:10am to 11:01am, while 3L044 from Kathmandu moved from 1:05pm to 2:08pm.
3L715 from Tbilisi was delayed from 4:50pm to 6:35pm, while Oman Air flight WY635 from Muscat, scheduled to arrive at 8:05pm, was cancelled.
Sharjah also recorded several cancellations on September 23. Air Arabia services G9070 to Gassim, G9068 and G9124 to Kuwait, G9107 to Bahrain, and G9040 and G9027 to Doha were all cancelled.
flydubai flight FZ815 from Dubai to Abha, scheduled to depart at 4:45am and arrive at 6:35am, was also cancelled.
Iran aviation restrictions take effect
The flight disruptions come as new restrictions affecting Iranian aviation take effect.
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said flights from Tehran to Baghdad and Muscat would be cancelled from midnight on Wednesday, while authorities were discussing alternative arrangements for services bound for Baghdad.
“For this reason, we are coordinating and consulting so that flights destined for Baghdad will be directed to Najaf airport,” Civil Aviation Organization spokesman Majid Akhavan said.
The developments follow an earlier announcement by the US Treasury imposing sanctions on 36 entities linked to Iran’s aviation sector. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also warned that companies providing services to Iranian airlines could face secondary sanctions.
Bessent said companies handling Iranian carriers “cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets, or you will be knocked out of the dollar system”.
More Europe flights return from October
Passengers travelling between Dubai and Europe will have more options from next month, with up to 36 weekly flights set to return across several routes.
Lufthansa will resume services between Dubai and Munich and Frankfurt from October 25, followed by SWISS flights between Dubai and Zurich from October 27.
Eurowings will restart connections with Berlin, Stuttgart and Cologne/Bonn from November 1, while Austrian Airlines will resume its Dubai–Vienna service from December 12.
The restored schedules will bring up to 36 weekly flights between Dubai and the listed European cities during the winter travel season.
Kuwait denies transit flights will start from October 1
Kuwait’s Public Authority of Civil Aviation has denied reports that an airline operating at Kuwait International Airport will launch transit flights from October 1.
Authority spokesperson Abdullah Al-Rajhi told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Tuesday that the reports were inaccurate. He said airlines operating at the airport had not been informed or notified of any decision to begin transit flights on the date mentioned.
International airlines: UAE flight status and return dates
International airlines are gradually restoring services to the UAE, although several carriers continue to suspend or reduce flights as they monitor regional conditions.
- British Airways: Dubai bookings are open from November 4, initially with one daily winter service, increasing to two daily flights in summer. Abu Dhabi services are not expected to resume until winter 2027–28.
- Air France: Dubai flights remain suspended through October 13, 2026.
- Wizz Air: Dubai services are expected to resume from October 25, with Abu Dhabi flights restarting from October 27.
- Air Astana: Dubai services from Almaty will resume on October 1, followed by flights from Astana on October 2, with capacity increasing gradually through October.
- Eurowings: Dubai flights are suspended through October 24, with services currently scheduled to resume on November 1.
- SWISS: Dubai flights remain suspended through October 24.
- Singapore Airlines: Dubai flights SQ494 and SQ495 are cancelled through October 24.
- KLM: Dubai flights remain suspended through October 24.
- ITA Airways: Dubai services remain suspended through October 24.
- AirBaltic: Riga–Dubai flights remain suspended through October 24.
- Philippine Airlines: Dubai flights remain suspended until October 2.
- Turkish Airlines: Dubai and Abu Dhabi services have resumed, while flights to Tehran remain suspended.
- Air Canada: Dubai flights are cancelled until mid-January 2027.
- Virgin Atlantic: Dubai services have been pushed back to October 2027.
Travel advice is changing
Travel advisories have eased in some countries, but governments continue to warn of possible disruption as regional security conditions remain fluid.
- UK: The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has removed its broad warning against all but essential travel to the UAE, but continues to warn of possible flight cancellations and airspace disruption.
- US: The UAE remains at Level 3 – Reconsider Travel, with Washington citing terrorism, armed conflict and commercial flight disruption.
- Australia: Travellers are advised to reconsider their need to travel to the UAE amid an unpredictable regional security situation and the possibility of airspace closures.
- Canada: Travellers are advised to exercise a high degree of caution in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
Check your flight before travelling
Passengers should check directly with their airline before leaving for the airport, as schedules can change at short notice.
flydubai advises passengers that check-in closes 60 minutes before scheduled departure, unless the airline provides different instructions by SMS or email.
