The UK’s flag carrier airline, British Airways, has just announced that it will be extending its reduced flying schedule due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East and the airspace instability that it is causing.
BA confirmed last week that it would be cancelling all flights to and from various destinations in the Middle East until ‘later this month’ due to the disruption in the region. But yesterday (March 16), the UK’s largest airline has announced that those cancellations will be extended.
The airline has revealed that it will be cancelling all flights to Doha (Qatar) until April 30, and all flights to Amman (Jordan), Bahrain, Tel Aviv (Israel), and Dubai (United Arab Emirates) until May 31. BA’s recent decision comes following Dubai International Airport having to temporarily close yesterday. And the major airline is one of many that have had to cancel flights to and from the region due to the ongoing circumstances.
There will be no British Airways services to or from Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) until ‘later this year’. BA will, however, continue to operate flights to Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
British Airways has said that the situation is ‘under constant review’ and that they’ve been in touch with affected customers to offer them ‘a range of options’. Prior to these cancellations, British Airways operated 7 flights a week from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi and around 20 flights a week to Dubai, so hundreds of flights (and thousands of passengers) are expected to be affected by these cancellations.
In a recent statement, British Airways said: “Due to the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and airspace instability, and to provide more clarity to our customers, we’ve extended the temporary reduction in our flying schedule in the region.
If you are due to fly to or from the Middle East in the coming days and weeks, we’d recommend you keeping an eye on your airline’s website and staying up to date with the latest news and travel advice from the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.