Dubai airport flights: Emirates resumes regular operations

Dubai's flagship carrier, Emirates, announced Tuesday that its regularly scheduled flight operations have fully resumed, experiencing only "minimal disruptions" following the regional events of last night (June 23). The airline confirmed that scheduled services were back online within a few hours.

"The airline quickly activated its robust contingency and disruption plans, with no diversions, only a small number of cancellations and a few flights experiencing longer flight paths due to airspace congestion," according to the airline.

Iran’s attack on Qatar’s Al Udeid US military base in Doha late Monday night – an act the Gulf state condemned as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty, international law, and the United Nations Charter – was immediately followed by widespread and significant impacts on commercial aviation across the Middle East and globally. Airlines and governments were forced to adapt to a rapidly changing security landscape.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the Iranian attack, expressing full solidarity with Qatar and warning that such acts undermine regional stability and violate international law. Airlines were on fresh alert late Monday night after Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait temporarily closed their airspaces.

Despite rapidly evolving conditions in the Middle East, Emirates has maintained its extensive network as "business as usual."

Emirates said it had served over 1.7 million passengers in the past two weeks on more than 5,800 flights.

The airline managed this by strategically rerouting flights to avoid conflict zones, delivering certainty to travellers while upholding its commitment to safety and reliability.

Services to Amman and Beirut, though briefly suspended, also resumed swiftly. Emirates was able to do this while prioritising safety and helping thousands of families start their summer holidays.

The airline said it took immediate action by suspending flights only to areas directly impacted by conflict while maintaining operations to all other destinations.

Emirates also stressed that the safety of its passengers and crew is its absolute priority, and the airline would never fly if unsafe. Emirates said it continuously monitors developments and coordinates with aviation authorities to assess every potential risk to ensure all flights are safely rerouted away from conflict zones.

Moreover, throughout the last two weeks, the airline said it kept customers informed with regular operational website updates and on its social media channels, and reservations teams helped re-accommodate affected customers.

The attacks come just head of the UAE summer break, where scores of residents and families travel for holidays to their home countries or popular vacation spots.

The airline said it is now gearing up for the busy summer travel season and continues to monitor developments in coordination with the relevant authorities.  It said it would continue to monitor the situation and has contingency plans to adapt to ongoing challenges quickly.

"The UAE’s leadership have put strong contingency plans and systems in place to support essential services, empowering Emirates to maintain safe, uninterrupted operations," the airline statement explained.

The airline credited the UAE leadership's strong contingency plans for empowering its ability to maintain uninterrupted services.