Emirates ups flight schedule despite Iran war turmoil

• More than 100 flights planned
• Limited Abu Dhabi flights resume
• No Bahrain or Doha departures

Emirates will operate more than 100 flights on Thursday and Friday as it looks to build back its flying schedule in the face of ongoing airspace closures and safety restrictions due to the Iran war.

Dubai’s state-backed carrier has been running a reduced schedule since Tuesday following the partial reopening of regional airspace.

This was accelerated during Thursday and is to continue through Friday, according to a spokesperson, with Emirates now flying to 75 destinations in Europe, America, Africa, the Far East and Australasia and West Asia and Indian Ocean Islands.

“These flights will carry people eager to reach their final destinations, as well as essential cargo like perishables and pharmaceuticals,” the spokesperson said.

It was also announced on Thursday that Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport had resumed limited flight operations after coordinating with the Emergencies, Crises and Disasters Management Center, Abu Dhabi.

But all commercial Etihad flights will remain suspended until 6am local time on Friday.

The response from the UAE capital to the suspension of flights from Saturday saw more than 4,300 complimentary hotel rooms provided across 74 hotels for about 7,000 passengers, according to a statement by the Abu Dhabi Media Office.

As of 4:30pm GST on Thursday, 87 flights had taken off from Dubai and 15 from Abu Dhabi, while 60 flights had departed from Oman’s Muscat International Airport, the latest update from aviation analytics company Cirium said. There were no flights from Bahrain or Doha.

Qatar Airways said it planned to start operating a limited number of relief flights from Thursday to support passengers who are stranded. 

Services include flights from Muscat to London Heathrow, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Rome and Amsterdam. The Doha flag carrier will also operate a flight from Riyadh to Frankfurt.

German flag carrier Lufthansa confirmed on Thursday that the suspension of its flights to and from Abu Dhabi would continue through to Tuesday.

A repatriation flight chartered by the UK government is expected to leave Muscat on Thursday. The flight was due to depart on Wednesday evening but had to be rescheduled after a number of technical and operational issues, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Residents and tourists stuck in the UAE are undertaking a journey taking up to 12-hours to Muscat to secure outbound flights, with Oman Air operating twice-daily bus services from Sharjah to support departures.