{"id":286032,"date":"2026-09-09T21:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T21:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/286032\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T21:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T21:33:14","slug":"dubai-and-middle-east-flight-disruption-emirates-etihad-flydubai-affected-following-a-uk-air-traffic-control-failure-and-ongoing-regional-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/286032\/","title":{"rendered":"Dubai and Middle East flight disruption: Emirates, Etihad, Flydubai affected following a UK air traffic control failure and ongoing regional tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Flight disruptions in the Middle East<\/a> continue this week because of a UK air traffic control outage, the aftermath of Indonesia’s volcanic eruption, and escalating regional tensions. Passengers travelling today can expect delays and cancellations when flying to and from the UK, Indonesia and several Gulf states.<\/p>\n

Due to a technical failure in the UK’s air traffic control system (NATS) on Tuesday, 8 September, there has been a spate of flight cancellations and delays on routes to and from the country today. The aftermath of Mount Anak Krakatau’s eruption continues to disrupt air traffic in Indonesia, despite all eight affected airports being operational again.<\/p>\n

An escalation in regional tensions is adding to the pattern of disruption. The US military has reportedly destroyed five Iranian oil tankers, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guard told ship crews in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports to evacuate and launched a missile attack on Jordan; the country reported that 20 ballistic missiles were fired towards its territory.<\/p>\n

This activity comes after missile activity resumed last week (Tuesday 3 September), with the US saying it hit around 100 targets in Iran, targeting IRGC air defences, radar, communication sites and mine-laying equipment, while Kuwait dealt with \u201cheinous Iranian aggression\u201d as several drones and missiles were fired into its territory. Bahrain<\/a> also intercepted several Iranian drones, and the UAE confirmed it had intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, 1 September, US embassies in the region issued an alert to citizens in the Middle East, warning of possible airspace closures, flight cancellations and other travel disruption.<\/p>\n

The war, now in its seventh month, continues to be at a diplomatic stalemate as the US continues to apply pressure with a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Since the initial ceasefire agreement broke down in July, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait<\/a>, Bahrain and the UAE have all faced missile and drone attacks, alongside Jordan.<\/p>\n

Flights to and from Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are facing ongoing cancellations. Several international airlines have extended route cancellations to the Middle East after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) renewed its conflict zone advisory<\/a> for the Gulf, urging airlines to avoid airspace over the waters of the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar until Wednesday, 30 September.<\/p>\n

As a result of the fluctuating situation, those travelling from, to, or through the region should remain prepared for possible flight disruptions.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what travellers with flights booked across the Middle East need to know right now.<\/p>\n

This article was updated with the latest information on Wednesday, 9 September 2026<\/p>\n

Which airlines are operating in the Middle East?<\/p>\n

All airlines with flights into countries with restricted airspace are currently operating with reduced and limited schedules, including those headed for Dubai International Airport, Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, Bahrain International Airport, Doha’s Hamad International Airport, Kuwait International Airport, Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport and Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Flight disruptions in the Middle East continue this week because of a UK air traffic control outage, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[26],"tags":[2622,39],"class_list":["post-286032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-persian-gulf","tag-airlines","tag-persian-gulf"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117243229297080111","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}