Emirates and Etihad cancel Saudi flights as delays affect UAE airports

Disruption overview

Passengers traveling through Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah faced cancellations and delays on 2 November 2026, with Saudi Arabia routes particularly affected by regional tensions and airspace restrictions. Etihad Airways has canceled all Abu Dhabi flights to Dammam, Jeddah, and Riyadh through 5 November, while Emirates, flydubai, and Air Arabia have also canceled services. Dubai International Airport, Al Maktoum International Airport, and Zayed International Airport experienced disruption, although some delays may have operational or technical causes rather than security-related ones. If you're affected, check directly with your airline before traveling: compensation is unlikely for security-related cancellations, but refunds, rebooking, and care may still be available under the rules covering your journey.

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Disruption details

Emirates, Etihad Airways, flydubai, and Air Arabia canceled flights as regional tensions and airspace restrictions disrupted travel across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah on 2 November 2026. Services to Saudi Arabia were particularly affected, while delays also hit arrivals and departures at UAE airports.

For passengers, this meant canceled journeys, longer waits, and changes to travel plans. If you're flying from or through the UAE, check your flight's status directly with your airline before heading to the airport.

Etihad Airways has canceled all services from Abu Dhabi to Dammam, Jeddah, and Riyadh through 5 November 2026. Emirates has also canceled multiple flights between Dubai and these 3 Saudi cities.

flydubai has canceled several services to Dammam, Riyadh, Abha, and Tabuk. Its other Saudi routes show a mix of scheduled and delayed flights, so the status of your individual service matters.

Air Arabia's cancellations extend beyond Saudi Arabia. Multiple flights from Abu Dhabi and Sharjah to Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Bangladesh, Oman, Russia, and other destinations have also been canceled.

At Dubai International Airport, arrivals from Ahmedabad, Yekaterinburg, Jeddah, and Gassim were delayed on 2 November. An arrival from Riyadh was canceled.

Across Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport, departure cancellations affected routes to Riyadh, Gassim, Tashkent, and Islamabad. Delayed departures included services to Jeddah, Islamabad, Moscow, Bangkok, Astana, Yekaterinburg, Chittagong, and Amritsar.

Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport also experienced arrival delays. Affected services included flights from Tel Aviv, Paris, Lahore, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Kochi, Cairo, Chicago, Boston, and Lisbon. No departure disruptions were reported there in the same update.

Not every delay is necessarily linked to regional tensions. Some may have operational or technical causes, so it's important to check the reason given for your own flight rather than assume all disruptions have the same explanation.

In Saudi Arabia, some airlines have moved services to alternative airports. flyadeal and Saudia are using Qassim Airport for Riyadh operations, with bus transfers for passengers. Riyadh airport is also offering passenger assistance and baggage storage.

Longer suspensions and postponed launches also affect Riyadh and Jeddah services across international carriers. These include IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air, Qatar Airways, Oman Air, SalamAir, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Pakistan International Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa, Philippine Airlines, Scoot, ITA Airways, KLM, Kuwait Airways, Riyadh Air, and Singapore Airlines.

British Airways is due to resume flights on 3 November 2026, while other carriers have postponed their returns. If you're booked on a service that's due to restart, confirm its status with the airline before traveling.

Alongside the flight disruption, Dubai is preparing for the winter travel season with new tourism initiatives. These include an invitation-only membership club for returning visitors and plans to let tourists apply for single-entry and multiple-entry visas through Visit Dubai from November.

Compensation is unlikely for cancellations caused by regional security concerns and airspace restrictions because these are outside the airline's control. That doesn't mean you're without support: depending on the rules covering your journey, you may still have rights to a refund or rebooking, as well as meals, refreshments, and accommodation if you're left waiting overnight.

Ask your airline what assistance applies to your booking. If your delay had a different cause, or you'd like help understanding your options, AirHelp's free flight checker can help you check whether compensation could apply to your individual flight.

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Information on this page is AI generated, but always checked by a (human) passenger right expert.