Planes of the German airline Lufthansa, on the tarmac at Frankfurt airport, March 12, 2026. (Credit: Heiko Becker/Reuters)
BEIRUT — Lufthansa and Air France are extending suspension of their Middle East flights due to the regional war, the airlines announced.
"Due to the volatile situation in the Middle East," all airlines in the Lufthansa group — Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, Edelweiss, Eurowings and cargo subsidiary Lufthansa Cargo — will suspend flights to the region at least until April 30 inclusive, Lufthansa said in a statement late Monday.
Air France said Tuesday it was "forced to extend the suspension of its flights" in effect since the war began Feb. 28, particularly those "to and from Dubai and Riyadh until March 31, 2026, inclusive [until April 1, 2026, for flights departing from Dubai]."
Flights to Beirut suspended 'until April 4, 2026, inclusive'
Flights to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut are suspended at least "until April 4, 2026, inclusive," Air France said. The Air France-KLM group's low-cost carrier, Transavia, has suspended flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut "until March 27, 2026, inclusive," and to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) "until March 28."
Some Lufthansa group airlines have suspended flights to certain destinations for even longer.
Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways and Edelweiss will suspend all flights to and from Dubai and Tel Aviv until May 31 inclusive. Flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Dammam, Riyadh, Erbil, Muscat and Tehran on these airlines are also canceled until Oct. 24 inclusive. Eurowings plans to suspend flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman until Oct. 24 inclusive.
Earlier Tuesday, Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific announced it was extending suspension of flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh until May 31 "in light of the current situation in the Middle East."
Iran retaliated against the Israeli-American offensive by targeting Israel as well as Washington's Gulf allies, including Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Iran hit civilian infrastructure such as airports, forcing these countries to close all or part of their airspace.
Aviation data firm Cirium said Qatar Airways, a long-haul connecting flight specialist, has been among the airlines most affected by the war. It canceled nearly 92 percent of its flights since Feb. 28. Etihad, based in Abu Dhabi, canceled almost three-quarters of its flights. Emirates (Dubai), which operates the largest fleet of giant Airbus A380s and long-haul Boeing 777s, canceled nearly half, according to Cirium.
