Travel across the region has been affected throughout June as conflict between Israel, Iran and the US came to a head.
With daily – sometimes even hourly – changes to airline schedules, open airspace and airports, passengers have been meticulously tracking travel updates, adjusting plans and packing with the likelihood of delays in mind.
While many destinations have been affected – the UAE’s airspace was closed on the night of June 23 – some key travel and transit cities have seen greater disruption since the onset of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and its neighbours.
For passengers travelling from the UAE to Beirut, Amman, Tehran and Tel Aviv, here is the latest on route suspensions and cancellations.
Beirut
With on-and-off conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, flights to Lebanon’s capital have suffered regular disruptions.
Currently, Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport is open, and the following UAE carriers are operating flights to the capital: Etihad Airways, Emirates Airline, flydubai, Air Arabia and Wizz Air.
Elsewhere, German carrier Lufthansa and Romanian airline Tarom – which previously suspended flights – each state they will resume flights to Beirut from July 1.
Amman
Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan’s capital is currently open and operating.
The following UAE carriers are flying to and from Amman: Etihad, Emirates, flydubai, Air Arabia and Wizz Air.
However, operations from European cities to Amman on Wizz Air continued to be suspended until September 15.
Other international flights to the city also remain on hold. Tarom will halt flights until July; British Airways has cancelled the route from London until July 11; Greek carrier Aegean Airlines has put a pause on flights to and from Amman until September 8; and Irish carrier Ryanair has cancelled flights until October 25.
Tehran
Exchanging crossfire with Israel and striking a US military base in Qatar, Iran has been massively affected by the ongoing conflict.
However, the country has now expanded access by reopening its central and western airspace to international transit flights.
The Emirates Airline website states: “Due to the regional situation, Emirates has cancelled all the flights to and from Tehran until and including July 5, 2025.”
The flydubai’s website states “no fares available for the selected route at the moment”, for between Dubai and Tehran, with the first flight available to book outbound on July 11.
Air Arabia’s first flight, from Sharjah to Tehran, leaves on August 1, with no flights listed from Abu Dhabi. An update on June 25 on the carrier’s website reads: “As regional airspace continues to open, Air Arabia is gradually resuming operations on previously suspended flights. Customers are advised to visit airarabia.com to check the latest updates and their flight status. Affected passengers will be notified directly via SMS and email.”
Etihad and Wizz Air do not list Tehran as one of their destinations.
A statement on Qatar Airways, effective as of June 22, reads: “Flights to Iran remain temporarily suspended. Qatar Airways continues to monitor the situation and will provide further updates as they become available.”
Lufthansa has paused the route until and including July 31.
Tel Aviv
Numerous airlines have cancelled routes to Tel Aviv amid Israel’s strikes on Gaza since October 2023, and more suspended routes as the nation exchanges crossfire with Iran in June.
Israeli airspace was temporarily closed on June 13, opening once again on June 24. However, several airlines in the UAE continue to pause their routes to the capital.
Etihad has cancelled services to and from Tel Aviv until and including July 15.
Wizz Air has suspended all flights to and from Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport until further notice.
While Emirates is not operating flights directly, its website lists flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv as operational via sister airline flydubai. Air Arabia doesn’t list Israel as one of its destinations.
International airlines have also cancelled rights to the Israeli capital. These include:
Lufthansa until July 31Italy’s ITA Airways until July 31Air Europa until July 31IAG-owned British Airways until July 31US carrier Delta Air Lines says flights may be impacted until August 31 Aegean Airlines until September 8Air Canada until September 8 Latvia’s airBaltic until September 30
As the situation continues to change rapidly, it’s best to check directly with airlines for flight status and travel advice.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsReal estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
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UAE cricketers abroad
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Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
Key facilities
Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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Financial well-being incentives
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Some of Darwish’s last words
“They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope.” – Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsGetting%20there%20and%20where%20to%20stay
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The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It’s a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Safety ‘top priority’ for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company’s hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed […] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.