BCD Travel Research and Intelligence What you need to know: Airline operations: Middle East April 28, 2020 As demand declines and governments around the world restrict travel, airlines are adjusting their operations, and, in some cases, suspending all services. This report summarizes what airlines in the Middle East are doing and planning. Major carriers Airline Action and plans Emirates Most passenger operations suspended from March 25. Flights continue to London and Frankfurt, with repatriation services offered to other destinations Etihad Airways All flights suspended from March 26 until May 1. Repatriation flights operated to 11 destinations. Reduced schedule to resume from May 1 until June 30 Qatar Airways Most flights continue, serving passengers transiting through Doha Turkish Airlines All international and some domestic routes suspended until May 1 Emirates resuming some flights after suspending most passenger operations Emirates suspended most passenger operations from March 25, with no date for their resumption.1 It had been trying to maintain these flights as long as possible, to help travelers return home. But increasing travel restrictions – including the March 19 suspension of all entry visas to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) – forced it to curtail its operations substantially. Emirates will continue to operate a small number of passenger flights to a limited number of countries, as long as their borders stay open and demand remains. The airline will resume suspended services once countries reopen their borders and travel confidence returns. Emirates is already looking forward to a gradual resumption of passenger services as travel and operational restrictions are lifted. It received approval to resume services to Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Paris and Zurich from April 6.2 It currently offers four flights per week to Heathrow and three to Frankfurt. On April 15, Emirates announced the resumption of limited services to Algiers, Chicago, Jakarta, Manila, Taipei and Tunis. These are repatriation flights. Tickets can only be booked one-way by citizens of the destination countries, who are returning home from the U.A.E., subject to the entry requirements set by each destination country.3 1 Breaking Travel News, March 22, 2020 2 Breaking Travel News, April 3, 2020 3 Emirates, April 15, 2020 COVID 19 – Airline operations – Middle East| April 28, 2020 | Page 1 BCD Travel Research and Intelligence Etihad Airways may resume limited schedule from May 1 Following a U.A.E. government decision to suspend all flights to, from and via Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways stopped all services on March 26, initially for 14 days.4 On April 5, the airline extended the suspension until April 21. This date has since been pushed back until May 1. Since April 5, Etihad Airways has operated repatriation flights to a growing number of destinations. To help foreign citizens return home from the U.A.E., Etihad now flies to 14 destinations with a schedule on many routes running until mid-May:5 • Asia Pacific: Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo • Europe: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, London and Zurich • North America: Chicago Subject to the U.A.E. government lifting travel restrictions, Etihad plans to resume a limited schedule of flying from May 1, which it would operate until June 30. It has yet to specify the destinations and flight frequencies. Etihad also plans to launch a new Vienna service on July 1.6 Qatar Airways maintains most services for now The airline currently advises that passengers from all destinations served by the airline can still travel and transit through Doha, subject to entry restrictions at their final destination.7 Under instruction from the Qatar Government, entry into the State of Qatar is restricted to Qatari nationals, and they must enter a 14-day quarantine period after arrival. As this restriction begins to impact demand, Qatar Airways is altering or cancelling some services. Doha is one of the few remaining transit options left for people trying to make long-haul journeys to or from Australia and New Zealand. To support this demand, Qatar Airways started a new daily service to Brisbane on March 29. It has also deployed larger aircraft on its double daily services to Melbourne and Perth, and on its thrice daily Sydney service. Qatar Airways is working with governments around the world and will add or reinstate more flights where it can. From April 1, Qatar Airways paused operations to New York JFK, with flights to Madrid suspended from April 4 and Barcelona from April 5. The airline plans to resume the services once regular conditions return. Turkish Airlines suspends all international flights during April From March 27, Turkish Airlines temporarily suspended all international flights until May 1.8 It continues to operate domestic flights on a limited basis to Adana, Ankara, Diyarbakir, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir, Kayseri, Konya, Malatya, Samsun, Trabzon and Van. All other domestic services are suspended until May 1. All passengers flying on domestic services must submit an official Travel Permit Document before being allowed on the aircraft. 4 Etihad Airways, March 23, 2020 5 Breaking Travel News, April 24, 2020 6 Etihad Airways, April 16, 2020 7 Qatar Airways, March 23, 2020 8 Turkish Airlines, April 1, 2020 COVID 19 – Airline operations – Middle East| April 28, 2020 | Page 2 BCD Travel Research and Intelligence Other airlines Airline Action and plans Air Arabia Abu Dhabi Proceeding with launch in second quarter of 2020 Air Astana Resuming domestic flights from May 1 El Al All flights suspended until May 2. Eight routes to be served during May Jazeera Airways All flights grounded indefinitely Kuwait Airways All flights suspended indefinitely Oman Air All passenger services from Muscat suspended from March 29 until further notice Saudia All domestic and international flights suspended until further notice Air Arabia Abu Dhabi proceeding with launch In spite of the disruption caused by COVID-19, Etihad Airways and partner Air Arabia have no plans to delay the launch of new low-cost carrier Air Arabia Abu Dhabi. The airline was originally due to launch in the second quarter of 2020.9 Air Astana resumes domestic flights Kazakh airline Air Astana will resume limited domestic services from May 1, offering three frequencies per day between Almaty and capital city Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana).10 El Al suspends all flights Israeli flag carrier El Al suspended its remaining flights on March 26 until April 4.11 In early April it extended the flight suspension until May 2.12 Some repatriation services and cargo flights continue. From May 3 until May 30, El Al plans to operate flights to New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Johannesburg, London and Paris. Flights to other destinations may be added as required. Kuwait Airways grounded Kuwait’s government suspended all flights to and from the emirate from March 13. The suspension remains in place until further notice, and it means that Kuwaiti airlines – Kuwait Airways and budget operator Jazeera Airways – have grounded all flights. Oman Air suspends all flights As COVID-19 spread around the world, Oman Air progressively suspended services to a number of markets. Its flights to China, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the U.A.E. were suspended until further notice. Other changes include: • Egypt – flights suspended until March 31 • India – flights suspended until March 29 • Nepal – flights suspended between March 22 and March 31 9 Breaking Travel News, April 16, 2020 10 Breaking Travel News, April 28, 2020 11 Cirium, March 26, 2020 12 El Al, April 2020 COVID 19 – Airline operations – Middle East| April 28, 2020 | Page 3 BCD Travel Research and Intelligence From March 23, foreign travelers were no longer allowed to enter Oman. Only Omani nationals may now travel to the country. As a result of this increase in restrictions, Oman Air suspended all remaining passenger services from Muscat from March 29.13 The airline has provided no date for the resumption of services. Oman Air domestic flights to and from Musandam Governorate (the northern peninsula separated from the rest of Oman by the United Arab Emirates) continue to operate as normal. Saudia suspends all flights until further notice On March 15, Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines) suspended all international flights to/from Saudi Arabia for 14 days. Exceptions were granted for flights taking Umrah performers back to their countries. By March 21, the airline had also suspended all domestic flights for 14 days. 14 On March 29, Saudia announced an extension of the suspension of all international and domestic flights until further notice. Note The COVID-19 situation is rapidly evolving, and the situation is changing on almost an hourly basis. The information presented in this report represents the latest view as at April 28, 2020. Do you have questions or comments regarding this report? Please email [email protected] to share your thoughts. 13 Breaking Travel News, March 25, 2020 14 Saudia, March 20, 2020 COVID 19 – Airline operations – Middle East| April 28, 2020 | Page 4 .