Yesterday, British Airways announced plans to minimize its route service in the Middle East, which will also impact service to places like Africa and India.
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Specifically, British Airways announced plans to drop all routes between London Heathrow and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, starting on April 24. The airline will also greatly minimize the number of routes serving Dubai, Doha, and Tel Aviv, located in the UAE and Israel, respectively, starting in July.
Currently, routes between all locations listed above are suspended. They have been suspended until the end of May, when British Airways will reassess airspace in the region and, most likely, reopen routes.
For British Airways, the shift isn’t solely due to the touchy ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, which has seen unrest and closed airspace for over a month. Instead, it’s part of a permanent plan to lessen Middle East routes.
And it looks like other airlines are taking note.
European airlines join British Airways in dropping Middle East routes
With Middle Eastern airlines like Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways operating far below capacity due to ongoing conflicts in the region, you might assume European airlines are picking up the pace. In reality, British Airways is one of a handful of major commercial airlines pivoting away from the Middle East.
Airlines under the Lufthansa Group (including Lufthansa, SWISS, and ITA Airways) have suspended flights to/from Dubai and Tel Aviv until the end of May. Additional suspensions to places like Abu Dhabi, Beirut, and Tehran are suspended until late October.
Air France-KLM has also suspended flights in Israel, Lebanon, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Wizz Air and Iberia Express have followed similar plans. You can read through other airline route changes via The Independent.
However, for now, only British Airways has plans to permanently nix or reduce routes to these locations following May 31. Some airlines, like Wizz Air, will attempt to kickstart Tel Aviv routes starting as soon as April 13.
