Dubai flights remain disrupted as Air France and Singapore Airlines extend suspensions

Disruption overview

Flights to and through Dubai International Airport are still being disrupted on 30 July 2026 as Air France, Singapore Airlines, and other international carriers keep Middle East suspensions in place. Singapore Airlines has extended its Singapore-Dubai suspension until late October, while Air France, LOT Polish Airlines, Finnair, and British Airways are also delaying resumptions, cutting frequencies, or canceling routes. Even where schedules have largely returned, airlines are still making diversions around Iranian and Iraqi airspace, which can mean longer journeys, tighter connections, and overnight delays. Because the disruption is tied to armed conflict and security restrictions outside the airline's control, compensation under EC 261 is usually unlikely, but airlines should still provide rebooking, refunds, and care during major delays or cancellations.

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Disruption details

Flights to and through Dubai International Airport are still facing disruption on 30 July 2026 as Air France, Singapore Airlines, and other international carriers keep Middle East suspensions in place. For passengers, this means fewer nonstop choices, longer routings, and a higher chance of last-minute timetable changes even though operations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are steadier than earlier in 2026.

The main pressure is coming from the wider regional security picture rather than from airport operations inside the United Arab Emirates. Missile activity around Iran has eased in recent weeks, but airlines are still treating the airspace situation cautiously and several are avoiding firm restart dates while they carry out ongoing security reviews.

Air France has delayed the return of several Dubai and wider Gulf services and says any resumption will depend on rolling security assessments. Singapore Airlines has gone further by extending the suspension of its Singapore-Dubai flights until late October, while moving the aircraft to lower-risk long-haul routes such as Singapore-London Gatwick and Singapore-Melbourne.

Other airlines are also keeping their Middle East schedules under review. LOT Polish Airlines will wait until later in the year before bringing back its seasonal Dubai service, while Finnair has canceled Doha flights until at least October and continues to avoid large parts of regional airspace.

Even carriers that halted service outright earlier in 2026 are not fully back to normal. Emirates, Etihad Airways, flydubai, Air Arabia, and Qatar Airways have rebuilt most of their long-haul schedules, but they are still making selective cancellations and diversions, especially on routes involving Kuwait, parts of Saudi Arabia, and other destinations seen as higher risk.

To keep flights moving, many aircraft are being routed around Iranian and Iraqi skies. That adds time to journeys, squeezes connection windows, and can sometimes turn into overnight delays when airlines need to wait for fresh clearances before continuing.

Dubai International Airport remains a critical east-west hub and handled tens of millions of passengers in Q1 2026. Even so, total capacity is still lower than before the crisis because several foreign airlines have thinned frequencies. British Airways is one example, having trimmed Dubai and wider Middle East flying for the northern-summer season to protect schedule resilience. Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport is seeing a similar pattern of recovery, but ad hoc cancellations are still part of the picture.

Travel advisories from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have also been renewed in recent days, warning that the regional security outlook remains unpredictable and that more disruption cannot be ruled out. Industry estimates suggest thousands of flights across the Middle East and North Africa have been canceled since hostilities escalated earlier this year. In response, many international airlines have extended flexible rebooking waivers first introduced in March into late summer and early autumn, letting travelers move dates or routings without extra fees.

If you're flying to or through Dubai, the disruption is most likely to show up in a few practical ways:

• Fewer nonstop flights as some foreign carriers keep Dubai and Gulf suspensions in place.

• Longer flight times because airlines are routing aircraft around closed or restricted airspace.

• Tighter connections, last-minute schedule changes, and occasional overnight delays while airlines wait for new operating clearances.

Because these disruptions are linked to armed conflict and related security restrictions outside the airline's control, compensation under EC 261 is usually unlikely. That said, your airline should still offer rebooking or a refund if your flight is canceled, along with food, refreshments, and hotel accommodation if you're left waiting for hours or stranded overnight. Although compensation is unlikely here, that doesn't mean you're without support. You can use AirHelp's free flight checker to understand your rights and see what help may be available for your trip.

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