Can You Fly to the UAE, Qatar and Tel Aviv This Summer in 2026?
The region swung twice in a week. First an escalation: on 3 June Iranian drones hit a terminal at Kuwait’s airport, the ceasefire fell apart, and from 5 to 11 June the US and Iran traded strikes while Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to all shipping. Then a sharp reversal: on 11 June Trump called off planned strikes and said the text of an agreement had been approved at the highest level in Tehran. As of 13 June the deal is close to signing but not signed, and the two sides describe its terms differently.
Airline schedules and the EASA bulletin are still built around the conflict continuing. On 10 June EASA issued a new revision of the bulletin valid to 24 June, Kuwait’s Terminal 1 is closed, and most European and US carriers have already pulled their flights to the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia for the whole summer. Oil, meanwhile, has dropped to $87 a barrel on hopes of a deal.
The deal is close but not signed. On 11 June, after the text was agreed in Tehran with Qatar and Pakistan mediating, Trump called off the strikes and said he was ready to send Vice President JD Vance to sign. A US administration source put the chance of signing at 80-85% and added that they were not at the finish line yet. Iran says it is in the final stage of internal consultations with no final decision made. Different sources named a venue and date for the signing; Iran’s Fars agency denied them.
The two sides describe the terms differently. The US talks about phased sanctions relief tied to real compliance and the removal of enriched uranium. Iranian media give another version – unfrozen assets and Iran keeping control of Hormuz. Trump called the leaked Iranian terms a fabrication. Until it is signed, this is a negotiating position, not a fact.
The next date is 24 June. Until then the EASA bulletin CZIB 2026-03-R12 of 10 June applies. Sign the deal and an early easing is possible; collapse the talks and the hard restrictions come back.
NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) – an official notice to pilots and airlines about changes in airspace: closed routes, altitude limits, military zones. NOTAMs are what shut the skies over eight countries on 28 February. We have a separate guide on what a NOTAM is and how it changes your flight.
EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) – the EU’s aviation regulator. Every European airline answers to it. If EASA recommends avoiding an airspace, European carriers follow that recommendation – their insurers won’t cover losses from a flight that ignored EASA guidance.
CZIB (Conflict Zone Information Bulletin) – EASA’s official advisory for conflict zones. It names which countries to avoid, at which altitudes and until when. The current one, CZIB 2026-03-R12, runs until 24 June 2026. R12 means the 12th revision since the first version on 28 February. It’s a recommendation, not a sovereign closure of the airspace, which is why Emirates, Qatar Airways and other non-European carriers fly where Lufthansa and Air France can’t. Full text on the EASA site.
What changed over the week
Before 3 June the skies were opening up. Wizz Air returned to Tel Aviv on 28 May, Austrian on 1 June, and the same day Kuwait reopened Terminal 1. Then on 3 June drones hit that terminal. From 5 to 11 June the US and Iran traded strikes, Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to all shipping and hit US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. On 11 June Trump called off the strikes and announced the agreement’s text had been settled.
EASA issued revision R12 on 10 June and extended the restrictions to 24 June. Iran, Iraq and Lebanon stay in the “avoid all altitudes” tier; the other eight countries of the Gulf and the Levant stay under “exercise caution”. The recommendations did not change – only the descriptive section was updated to flag additional risks around the Persian Gulf.
For airlines the picture splits. Flights to Tel Aviv are coming back fast. To the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia it’s the opposite: most European carriers wrote off the summer weeks ago, and the early-June escalation gave them no reason to reconsider.
The main cost is fuel. Brent slid from its 3 June peak to $87 a barrel by 12 June – a two-month low on hopes of a deal, against $95-97 a week earlier and a peak near $117 in April. Jet fuel sits around $142 a barrel, twice the level airlines budgeted for 2026. Europe-Asia fares ran 12-22% above pre-crisis through spring, with connections via Dubai and Doha 30-50% higher. Detours add 45 minutes to 3 hours and 300-800 nautical miles on long-haul Europe-Asia flights, mostly through the southern corridor over Egypt, southern Saudi Arabia and Oman.
What to do if you have a flight coming up
Changing tickets right now is riskier than at any point in the crisis. The bulletin is reviewed on 24 June, the talks could go either way, and schedules shift day to day. Four things worth doing now.
Live boards and official airport sites for the region
The quick way to check what’s happening at any airport in the region. Each row links to our airport page with live arrivals and departures and to the official site. At Kuwait, flights run through T4 and T5 while Terminal 1 is closed – until it reopens the board will show cancellations for some carriers.
If you’ve never dug into the status codes on a board, our short guide on how to read an airport board without mistakes explains what Final Call, Gate Closed and Boarding actually mean, so you don’t lose a flight you thought you still had time for.
Timeline: how the crisis unfolded
Trump calls off planned strikes on Iran and says the agreement has been brought to Iran’s top leadership and approved. Sources report a settled text with Qatar and Pakistan mediating. No signing yet – Iran says it is in the final stage of internal consultations.
The US strikes Iran; Iran hits US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan and declares the Strait of Hormuz closed to all shipping. EASA issues CZIB R12 with a 24 June expiry.
Iranian drones and missiles hit Terminal 1 at Kuwait KWI two days after it reopened. One person killed, dozens injured, flights halted and diverted. CENTCOM reports a strike on a drone control station on Qeshm Island. Reported by The National.
Austrian resumes Tel Aviv, the first Lufthansa Group carrier back. Kuwait reopens Terminal 1 with about 18 flights a day. Hours later, Iran suspends indirect talks with the US and threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz, per CNBC.
Wizz Air resumes Tel Aviv, the first major non-Israeli, non-Greek carrier back. The European low-cost return begins.
A drone hits a generator outside the perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Plant in Abu Dhabi. No injuries, no radiation, the plant operating normally. Several carriers extend their UAE-area suspensions in response.
EASA changes its recommendation for Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia from “avoid all altitudes” to “exercise caution”. Only Iran, Iraq and Lebanon stay in the hard tier.
Iran launches 12 ballistic missiles, 3 cruise missiles and 4 drones at the UAE, the first major strike since the 8 April ceasefire. Most are intercepted. A drone hits the Fujairah oil zone, injuring three Indian nationals. Al Jazeera reports Brent jumping 6%.
Kuwait restores its airspace on 23 April, the last of the Persian Gulf states to do so. Tehran IKA resumes international flights on 25 April after 58 days – to Istanbul, Muscat, Medina, China and Russia.
A temporary ceasefire is announced. Iraq reopens its airspace the same day; Bahrain and Tel Aviv follow within 48 hours.
EASA lifts the restriction on southern Oman and Saudi Arabia at FL320 and above. The southern Arabian corridor becomes the main route for long-haul Europe-Asia flights.
The skies over eight countries close within hours. Dubai DXB and Doha DOH suspend operations after US-Israel strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites trigger Iranian retaliation across the region.
Airport status: who’s open and how far
Most Persian Gulf airports are open. Terminal 1 in Kuwait and arrivals into Tehran are closed, and Baghdad is under a hard restriction. Elsewhere the question isn’t which airport is shut but which airline flies where.
| Airport | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Kuwait KWI | 🟡 Partial | Terminal 1 closed since the 3 June strike, no repair date announced. Kuwait Airways operates from T4, Jazeera Airways from T5. Most foreign carriers have suspended flights. On 11 June the airspace closed briefly amid fresh attacks. Check the board before you travel |
| Dubai DXB | 🟡 Open, some cancellations | Emirates on a reduced schedule, cutting about 16% of flights in June after the fresh attacks. flydubai on an adjusted timetable. European carriers staying out: Lufthansa to 13 September, BA to 25 October, KLM to 2 August |
| Abu Dhabi AUH | 🟢 Open | Etihad ramping up fast – Abu Dhabi-Tel Aviv to six flights a day (42 weekly) from 15 June, set to be Etihad’s busiest route. Lufthansa Group and Air France out to late October |
| Sharjah SHJ | 🟢 Open | Air Arabia flying all its destinations |
| Doha DOH | 🟡 Reduced | Qatar Airways on a reduced schedule with some aircraft idle; expanding to about 150 destinations from 16 June, A380s back from 16 June on London and Bangkok only. flydubai, Air Arabia, Oman Air, EgyptAir and Syrian Air operating. BA to 25 October |
| Tel Aviv TLV | 🟢 Open, flights returning | El Al has nearly all its flights back. Etihad, flydubai and Aegean operating; Wizz Air returned 28 May, Austrian 1 June. Lufthansa and SWISS 1 July, Eurowings mid-July. BA from July-August; Delta JFK from 6 September; US carriers not before September |
| Amman AMM | 🟡 Open, GPS interference | Open while Jordanian airspace is open. GPS interference recorded nearby. Turkish Airlines operating. Lufthansa Group out to 24-25 October |
| Bahrain BAH | 🟡 Open, was targeted | Gulf Air flying its destinations. Iranian missiles aimed at Bahrain in early June were intercepted by US and Bahraini forces. BA to 25 October |
| Baghdad BGW | 🟡 Under hard restriction | Iraqi Airways flying internationally, but Iraq is in the “avoid all altitudes” tier under R12 – European carriers neither land nor transit |
| Tehran IKA | 🔴 Arrivals suspended | Inbound flights suspended since 8 June after the exchange of strikes. Iran in the “avoid all altitudes” tier under R12, European carriers blocked |
| Riyadh RUH | 🟢 Open | Saudia, flynas and flyadeal operating. BA returned 20 May, Air France in early June – the first European carriers back. Lufthansa Group to 24 October |
| Muscat MCT | 🟢 Fully operational | The only airport in the region that never closed. Oman Air has all its flights back, including Damascus. Used as a diversion airport during attacks. Lufthansa Group to 24 October |
| Damascus DAM | 🟢 Flights growing | Qatar Airways daily, flynas and Turkish Airlines operating, flyadeal added. International service rebuilding faster than anywhere in the region |
| Beirut BEY | 🟡 Limited | MEA operating; Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines back from spring. European carriers blocked under the R12 Lebanon ban. Israel’s operations in Lebanon are the reason Iran cited for walking away from talks on 1 June |
The EASA bulletin: what revision R12 locked in
The bulletin in force since 10 June, CZIB 2026-03-R12, is extended to 24 June. It keeps the two-tier structure that revision R10 introduced on 12 May:
- Hard “avoid all altitudes”: Iran (Tehran FIR), Iraq (Baghdad FIR), Lebanon (Beirut FIR). European carriers can’t legally fly to these countries or over them under their insurance terms.
- “Exercise caution”: Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia (Jeddah FIR). Carriers can schedule flights with a documented risk assessment. The exemption for southern Oman and Saudi Arabia at FL320 and above stays in place.
R12 didn’t change the recommendations – it only updated the descriptive section to flag additional risks around the Persian Gulf. After the 3 June strike, Kuwait has not been moved back into the hard tier.
24 June is the next decision point. Sign the deal and stop the strikes, and EASA could drop some countries from the bulletin early. Collapse the talks, and the document is either extended unchanged or the “avoid” list grows.
European, US and local carriers – the restart calendar
Three groups of carriers, by how fast they’re coming back.
Back already or within weeks – Tel Aviv first
Wizz Air came back to Tel Aviv first, on 28 May – ahead of every major non-Israeli carrier except Aegean. Austrian followed on 1 June, the first Lufthansa Group carrier back. Lufthansa and SWISS return to Tel Aviv on 1 July, Eurowings mid-July.
Air France resumed Riyadh in early June. Beirut and Dubai are set for 17 June. Reports differ on Tel Aviv – some say 14 June, others 1 July.
On Abu Dhabi-Tel Aviv, Etihad is moving fastest of all: six flights a day from 15 June.
Cautious return – UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in late summer or autumn
BA resumed Riyadh on 20 May. Dubai, Doha, Tel Aviv, Bahrain and Amman have been pushed to 25 October, later than it planned in May. Kuwait isn’t on the BA restart list. Jeddah is dropped for good.
Lufthansa and SWISS hold Dubai at 13 September. Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Dammam, Riyadh, Erbil, Muscat and Tehran run to 24-25 October.
KLM: Riyadh and Dammam to 26 July, Dubai to 2 August.
Writing off summer 2026
Eurowings has extended all its UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia routes to late October. As Lufthansa’s low-cost arm, its call is the clearest sign that the group doesn’t expect summer demand on these routes. Brussels Airlines holds Tel Aviv to 24 October.
US carriers are out the longest. Delta, United and American won’t resume Tel Aviv before September; Delta starts JFK-Tel Aviv on 6 September; American, per reports, won’t be back before January 2027.
Local and Asian carriers – holding the region up
Emirates is running about 70-87% of its pre-war flights on a reduced schedule, cutting roughly 16% in June after the fresh attacks. Qatar Airways is on a reduced timetable with some aircraft idle, expanding to about 150 destinations from 16 June.
flydubai, Etihad, Saudia, Gulf Air, Oman Air and Turkish Airlines are operating across the region. Iraqi Airways has its international flights back, and Mahan Air runs 10 flights a week to China from Tehran. These are the airlines that keep flying while European carriers stay grounded on EASA’s advice.
Detours, fares and oil prices
Europe-Asia traffic runs on two corridors. The southern one – over Egypt, southern Saudi Arabia (below the OBSOT-DANOM line at FL320 and above) and Oman – carries most long-haul flights. The northern corridor through Georgia and Azerbaijan stays narrow, about 160 km (100 mi) between Russian and Iranian airspace. Eastern Iran above FL285 is open for overflight; western Iran is closed.
If your long-haul flight now detours through one of these corridors, our guide on how to choose an 8+ hour flight covers which aircraft type and departure time matter on the longer routes.
Fares haven’t come down. Europe-Asia ran 12-22% above pre-crisis through spring, with connections via Dubai and Doha 30-50% higher. Fewer carriers in the market, longer routes and fuel surcharges all push the same way, and the early-June escalation removed the nearest chance of a drop.
Brent slid from its 3 June peak to $87 a barrel by 12 June – a two-month low on hopes of a deal, against $95-97 a week earlier and a peak near $117 in April. Jet fuel sits around $142 a barrel, twice the level airlines budgeted for the year.
A confirmed closure of the Strait of Hormuz would send both straight back up.
- A US-Iran deal is taking shape: text settled 11 June, oil falling on hopes of peace
- Tel Aviv is opening up: Wizz Air and Austrian back, Lufthansa, SWISS and Eurowings in July
- Etihad takes Abu Dhabi-Tel Aviv to six flights a day from 15 June
- Local carriers fly regardless of EASA – Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Saudia, Gulf Air
- Damascus reconnected – Qatar Airways, flynas, Turkish Airlines, flyadeal
- Brent at a two-month low, jet fuel below its May peak
- The deal isn’t signed, and the two sides disagree on its terms – it could still fall through
- Kuwait’s Terminal 1 closed since the 3 June strike, no reopening date
- Tehran has suspended arrivals, Baghdad is under a hard restriction
- European flights to the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia mostly off until September-October, BA to 25 October
- Fares still 12-22% above pre-crisis, jet fuel nearly double normal
- Iran, Iraq and Lebanon in the hard tier – no transit routing through them
Outlook for June, summer and the rest of 2026
Three scenarios, depending on how the talks end. If you’re planning a trip later this year, our breakdown of where to go in summer 2026 and where to avoid covers the alternatives if Middle East routes don’t fit.
Scenario 1 – the deal is signed, EASA lifts the restrictions
The best outcome after 11 June. Sign the text, stop the strikes, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and EASA could drop the eight “exercise caution” countries from the bulletin and keep only Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. European carriers speed up their return, though Lufthansa’s Dubai stays at 13 September even here. Brent falls to $85-90, fares ease 5-10%, and flights are nearly fully restored by year-end. Even after signing, shipping and insurance rates take weeks to recover.
Scenario 2 – the ceasefire holds but the bulletin stays as is
The base case as of 13 June. More flights to Tel Aviv on schedule – Lufthansa, SWISS and Eurowings in July. The UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia rebuild slowly through August-September. Most European flights there skip the summer entirely. Brent holds in the $90-110 range, fares stay 12-22% higher into autumn.
Scenario 3 – the talks collapse, EASA tightens again
This risk has already played out twice – on 4 May and in early June. If strikes on airports and shipping continue, at the next review EASA moves Kuwait, and possibly its neighbours, back to “avoid all altitudes”. Every restart date slips 30-60 days. Brent breaks $120, the Tel Aviv resumptions go on pause, and the Iran-Iraq-Lebanon block widens.
This risk isn’t priced into current ticket prices. If you’re booked into the region in July-August, the downside is real.
Dates that matter through the end of summer
- 15 June – Etihad takes Abu Dhabi-Tel Aviv to six flights a day
- 16 June – Qatar Airways expands to about 150 destinations, A380s back on London and Bangkok
- 17 June – Air France Beirut and Dubai
- 24 June – EASA bulletin R12 expires, next review
- 1 July – Lufthansa and SWISS Tel Aviv
- 26 July – KLM Riyadh and Dammam
- 2 August – KLM Dubai
- 13 September – Lufthansa and SWISS Dubai, the latest date among the major European carriers
- 24-25 October – Lufthansa Group flights to the Persian Gulf states, Brussels Airlines Tel Aviv, BA Dubai, Doha, Bahrain and Amman
Where 2026 ends up
If the strikes stop, flights are back to about 95% of pre-crisis levels by November. If they don’t, the recovery slips into 2027.
A few things won’t come back either way. Lufthansa Group’s Tehran route is almost certainly gone. BA’s Jeddah route is dropped for good. Kuwait’s recovery now restarts from the 3 June strike rather than the 1 June reopening.
Fares stay 5-10% above pre-crisis through year-end on fuel and insurance alone, even in the calmest scenario. Eurowings has dropped its entire summer 2026 season to the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia; if other European low-cost carriers do the same into 2027, the region loses a big chunk of summer demand for years.
Frequently asked questions
As of 13 June, the text of an agreement has reportedly been settled with Qatar and Pakistan mediating, and on 11 June Trump called off planned strikes. But it isn’t signed. A US administration source put the chance of signing at 80-85% and said they weren’t at the finish line yet. Iran calls it the final stage of internal consultations with no final decision. The two sides describe the terms differently: the US talks about phased relief tied to compliance and the removal of enriched uranium, Iranian media about unfrozen assets and Iran keeping control of Hormuz, and Trump called the leaked Iranian version a fabrication. For planning, work from the current restrictions, not from a deal that hasn’t been signed.
Terminal 1 has been closed since the 3 June strike and most foreign carriers aren’t flying there. Kuwait Airways operates from T4 and Jazeera Airways from T5, so some flights run, but far fewer, and there’s no repair date for T1. If you’re booked to or through Kuwait, expect a cancellation. Rebook via Dubai or Doha, keep your booking confirmation for a refund, and check the status on the flight tracker before heading to the airport.
Yes, on a local carrier. Emirates is on a reduced schedule but flying; Qatar Airways and Etihad run a full timetable. European carriers are different: Lufthansa Dubai is 13 September, BA 25 October, KLM 2 August, Air France Dubai 17 June. For a connection through Dubai before autumn, book Emirates or Etihad direct, or route via Istanbul on Turkish Airlines or Doha on Qatar Airways.
Faster than the UAE and Qatar. Wizz Air returned 28 May, Austrian 1 June. Lufthansa and SWISS return 1 July, Eurowings mid-July. Etihad takes Abu Dhabi-Tel Aviv to six flights a day from 15 June. El Al never stopped. Still out: BA from July-August, Brussels Airlines to 24 October, Delta JFK from 6 September, and other US carriers not before September. After the early-June escalation, check the status on the day of departure – the schedule can flip on a single incident.
The EASA bulletin is the EU’s official advisory for conflict zones – the document that tells European airlines which airspace to avoid. The current version, CZIB R12 (valid to 24 June), keeps Iran, Iraq and Lebanon in the hard “avoid all altitudes” tier, where European carriers can’t fly. Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia are under “exercise caution”, where European carriers can operate after a risk assessment. The 24 June review is the next decision point. If the deal is signed, EASA could ease the restrictions early; if the conflict flares up, it could move Kuwait or its neighbours back into the hard tier.
If you definitely need to fly, book direct on Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Saudia or Gulf Air – they fly regardless of EASA. Avoid European carriers for July-August unless you’re fine with the risk that suspensions get extended, as they have been more than once. Take refundable or flexible fares: the price difference is now smaller than the cost of a last-minute rebooking. Insurance that covers conflict-zone disruption is worth the money – many standard policies exclude acts of war. Check your flight status 48 and 24 hours before departure.
Not yet. Europe-Asia fares ran 12-22% above pre-crisis through spring, with connections via Dubai and Doha 30-50% higher. Jet fuel sits around $142 a barrel, twice the level airlines budgeted for 2026. Brent has dropped to $87 a barrel on hopes of a deal, but that hasn’t fed through to ticket prices yet. Even if everything calms down, a premium of 5-10% over pre-crisis is likely to persist through year-end on fuel and insurance alone.
The airline has to offer you a rebooking at no extra cost or a full refund. A route closed by an airspace restriction counts as an extraordinary circumstance under EU261 and UK261 – the refund is guaranteed, but there’s no extra compensation beyond what you paid. Our guide on compensation for delays and cancellations walks through the whole process. File through the airline’s website; phone lines are jammed. Several carriers, including Qatar Airways, Emirates and Air France, have flexible rebooking rules in place for the affected period. You can track your flight on the flight tracker.
Current as of 13 June 2026. This is a fast-moving story – the fate of the US-Iran deal and the EASA bulletin review on 24 June are the next key checkpoints, and airline dates can change on a single incident.