British Airways has cancelled all flights into Dubai until at least June, in a sign the carrier expects disruption in the Gulf to carry on for months.
The airline said on Monday it would not fly to Dubai, Amman, Bahrain or Tel Aviv until after May 31, and Doha in Qatar until the end of April, Financial Times reported.
Flights to Abu Dhabi will be cancelled until later this year. This is the longest major airline cancellation announced so far in the conflict, which has entered its third week.
European rivals Air France and Lufthansa have announced cancellations until later this month.
BA’s decision came hours after Dubai’s main airport was forced into a seven-hour closure early on Monday when a drone attack caused a fire at a nearby fuel tank.
Carriers based in the region have been increasing services in an attempt to return stranded passengers, using narrow air corridors that are patrolled by military jets. However, none of the major European airlines has resumed flights to Dubai, with Virgin Atlantic pulling its resurrected service after only a few days.
