Emirates, Etihad, Air Arabia, and flydubai adjust flights at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports

Disruption overview

Delays, cancellations, and schedule changes continued across Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Zayed International Airport (AUH) on 8 September 2026, affecting Emirates, Etihad Airways, Air Arabia, and flydubai. The disruption was driven by 2 overlapping problems: regional security tensions in the Gulf and volcanic ash from Indonesia's Mount Anak Krakatau, which has repeatedly interrupted flights to Jakarta.

Emirates suspended its Jakarta flights for the day, Etihad canceled 1 Jakarta service and delayed several others, and Air Arabia and flydubai also adjusted Bahrain, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi schedules. Because the main causes are outside the airlines' control, compensation is usually unlikely under EC 261, but passengers should still receive care such as rerouting or refunds, refreshments, and accommodation when needed.

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Disruption details

Flight disruption continued across Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Zayed International Airport (AUH) on 8 September 2026, with Emirates, Etihad Airways, Air Arabia, and flydubai adjusting schedules as delays, cancellations, and route changes rolled into another day.

For passengers, this meant changing departure times, canceled services, and extra uncertainty before even reaching the gate. The disruption was being driven by 2 separate problems: regional security tensions centered on Iran and the US naval blockade in the Gulf, and volcanic ash from eruptions at Mount Anak Krakatau that repeatedly shut Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) in Jakarta since Friday.

The ash cloud issue has been especially wide-reaching. Indonesia's eruption sequence has disrupted 8 airports since 4 September and affected more than 340,000 travelers, showing why airlines have stayed cautious with flights to and from Jakarta.

At Etihad Airways, most flights between Abu Dhabi and Bahrain or Kuwait were running normally, but a long list of other departures left late. Delays were reported on services to Karachi, Amsterdam, Bangalore, Manchester, Riyadh, Bangkok, Jakarta, and several Indian cities, while EY475 to Jakarta was canceled outright.

Etihad also said EY477 from Bali to Abu Dhabi was delayed on 7 September because of an onboard technical fault. Its Jakarta services EY472 and EY473 were rescheduled after ash-related closures at CGK disrupted operations.

Emirates kept limited Bahrain and Kuwait rotations on schedule, but some long-haul services to Perth, Montreal, Kolkata, Newcastle, and London Gatwick ran behind time. The bigger change came on the Jakarta route, where Emirates suspended all flights on 8 September. EK356 from Dubai to Jakarta, along with return services EK357 and EK359, were canceled because of volcanic ash hazards over Java.

Elsewhere in the UAE network, passengers saw a mix of late-running services and outright cancellations:

• flydubai said Bahrain flights FZ029 and FZ023 had arrived safely, while FZ021 from Dubai to Bahrain and FZ063 from Dubai to Kuwait were still listed to operate later in the day. The airline urged passengers to reach DXB at least 4 hours before departure and to keep checking app updates.

• Air Arabia canceled Sharjah services G9068, G9124, and G9107, plus Abu Dhabi service 3L020 to Kuwait. Several Abu Dhabi departures to Egypt, India, Armenia, Georgia, and Kazakhstan were also delayed.

• At DXB, additional cancellations affected SpiceJet, Airblue, and Iraq Airways, while Kenya Airways and several SpiceJet flights left late.

The disruption wasn't limited to UAE-based airlines. Air France extended its suspension of all Dubai flights until 10 September, and more than a dozen foreign carriers, including British Airways, Singapore Airlines, KLM, Cathay Pacific, and Lufthansa Group, kept partial or full restrictions on UAE routes or Gulf airspace while they reviewed the security situation.

Some airlines have started restoring parts of their schedules. Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, IndiGo, flynas, and Jazeera Airways have reinstated some operations, but all warned that sudden airspace closures remain possible. Jakarta's main airport reopened on 8 September after earlier ash closures, yet Emirates still canceled 3 rotations and Qatar Airways canceled QR959.

If you're flying through DXB or AUH, sudden changes are still possible. flydubai has already told passengers to arrive at Dubai International Airport at least 4 hours early and to keep checking app updates.

Government advisories underline the same message. The UK has lifted its blanket warning against all but essential travel to the UAE, but the US still lists the country at Level 3, and Australia and Canada continue to tell travelers to prepare for sudden groundings.

Because the main causes here are volcanic activity and regional security risk outside the airline's control, compensation under EC 261 is usually unlikely. Even so, your airline should still provide care and assistance if your trip is disrupted, including rerouting or a refund, meals and refreshments during long waits, and accommodation and transportation if you're stranded overnight. If you want to understand what support may apply to your flight, AirHelp's free flight checker is a simple place to start.

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