Dubai Travel Advice: How will the unfolding conflict in the Middle East affect international flights in the UAE?

The late afternoon Emirates flight from London Heathrow to Dubai has an advertised connection to Bangkok of just one hour. Normally 60 minutes is enough to free passengers (and individually their checked baggage) from the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the A380, and allow them to board another SuperJumbo at another gate in the airport that is more handles international travelers than anyone else in the world. world, all in the early hours of the morning.

But the remarkable, relentless choreography that allows millions of passengers to connect every day to Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi and many other hubs is under severe pressure due to Lebanon’s unfolding humanitarian crisis.

With Russian and Ukrainian airspace closed to Western aircraft, the options for flying from Europe to Asia seem to be shrinking by the day.

Airlines flying from Europe to the Gulf on Tuesday night into Wednesday experienced severe disruptions, with Emirates and Qatar Airways – the Middle East’s two largest airlines – diverting dozens of flights.

With many aircraft typically arriving at their destinations in Dubai and Doha several hours late, the carefully planned deployment of aircraft and crew was thrown into disarray.

The closed airspace over Iraq and Iran saw some unusual maneuvers, including an Air France plane from Paris to Mumbai turning over northern Iraq and flying back to Charles de Gaulle Airport.

British Airways was also affected: a plane from London Heathrow to Dubai that diverted to Larnaca in Cyprus to refuel late in its journey, and a Singapore-Heathrow flight that diverted to Dubai because the normal route was closed.

These are the most important questions and answers.

What are the normal routes from Europe to the Gulf and South Asia?

Normally, a plane flies over Germany, Austria and the Balkans to Turkey, flying across the country and turning southeast after passing Syria. Depending on the airline and its policy, the usual route is via Iraq or Iran to the Gulf.

What has changed?

Since the airspace was closed due to the Iranian missile attack, airlines have been taking much longer routes. For example, Qatar Airways’ early morning flight QR12, which arrived in Doha today, flew from London Heathrow southeast to Athens, across the eastern Mediterranean to Egypt, over the Sinai Peninsula to the Red Sea, and then turned east to cross the to fly into the middle of Saudi Arabia.

The additional distance of about 500 miles added an hour to the flight time. Coupled with the delay in reaching London, the plane arrived 90 minutes late at a hub with fewer connections.

There is often some leeway: if a significant number of passengers on a delayed flight are connecting to a specific departure from Dubai or Doha, the latter may be held back from making a connection.

What happens if I miss a connection?

The scale of the challenge is enormous. For example, on Thursday morning, none of the first twenty arrivals from Western Europe at Doha airport were on time, and some were even delayed by three hours.

When traveling from Britain, the airline becomes legally liable for providing meals (and accommodation if necessary) until it gets you to your destination, and may also have to pay compensation if the delay is within its control. The current conflict is considered an “extraordinary circumstance” and no compensation is due.

Due to all the missed connections and cancellations, passengers can wait several days at the hubs for onward flights.

While travelers from the UK can exercise their right to be flown to their final destination as quickly as possible, the same rules do not apply to a non-UK/European airline such as Emirates or Qatar Airways when flying from outside the UK/EU.

Is there more disruption for people who don’t change planes?

Yes. Every airline operating in the region is experiencing longer flight times, which are reverberating through the system. For example, the Singapore Airlines A380 SuperJumbo from the city state to London Heathrow has to follow a complicated course over India, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, which takes much longer than the ideal flight plan – which would go through southern Russia.

British Airways’ service from London Heathrow to Mumbai and back, which normally flies over Iraq, will be canceled on October 2, 3 and 4.