Emirates, Etihad Airways to resume operations to Israel, Jordan, Beirut as airspaces reopen
Airlines warn passengers of ‘knock-on disruptions’ throughout Monday
Dubai: UAE carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways have resumed their operations to Israel, Jordan and Beirut after temporary closures of airspaces were lifted Sunday afternoon.
An Emirates spokesperson said, “Emirates cancelled some flights and rerouted others due to temporary airspace closures in the region from late evening of April 13 until the morning of April 14.”
They said, “With the re-opening of these airspaces, we are resuming our scheduled operations to/from Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq from the afternoon of 14 April. We are closely monitoring the situation in co-ordination with the relevant authorities. Safety is always our top priority. Customers can check their flight status on emirates.com for the latest information.”
UAE’s flag carrier Etihad Airways will also resume scheduled operations as of Monday, April 15.
An Etihad Airways spokesperson said, “Following the reopening of airspace in Israel and Jordan and other parts of the Middle East, Etihad Airways plans to operate scheduled passenger and cargo services between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and Tel Aviv (TLV), Abu Dhabi and Amman (AMM) and Abu Dhabi and Beirut (BEY) on Monday April 15.”
The spokesperson said, “Etihad Airways flights only operate through approved airspace and safety is always our highest priority.” The spokesperson said the airline would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so, and the airline is continuously monitoring security and airspace updates.
“As services return to normal following disruption caused by the temporary closure of airspace across parts of the Middle East on Sunday 14 April, there may still be a risk of some knock-on disruption across Monday 15 March, and customers are urged to check the status of their flight on etihad.com before travel,” said the airline spokesperson.
Major airlines across the Middle East announced the cancellation of some of their flights, while having to reroute others, after Iran launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel through Saturday night into Sunday.