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COVID 19 – Airline operations – Middle East| June 15, 2020 | Page 1
What you need to know: Airline operations: Middle East
June 15, 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 until July. From June 15, connections offered
between 29 destinations
Etihad Airways
All flights suspended from March 26 until June 16. Flights resuming from June 10 for
connecting passengers over Abu Dhabi
Qatar Airways
Network rebuilt to 40 destinations by early June
Turkish Airlines
Domestic flights resumed June 4. Limited European flights restart June 18
Emirates resumes services connecting 29 destinations
Emirates suspended most passenger operations from March 25, with no date for their resumption.
1
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.
The general grounding of Emirates may continue until July.
2
The airline resumed passenger service to
nine destinations from May 21: Chicago, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Madrid, Melbourne, Milan, Paris,
Sydney and Toronto. Because of existing travel restrictions, the airline carried passengers outbound and
cargo inbound.
The U.A.E. Federal Government’s decision to lift restrictions on transit passenger services prompted
Emirates to resume service to 20 more destinations in June, but only for passengers connecting over
Dubai to other Emirates destinations. Flights to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad resume on June 8,
followed by Manila (June 11) and then Amsterdam, Bahrain, Brisbane, Copenhagen, Dublin, Hong Kong,
Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manchester, New York JFK, Perth, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Vienna and Zurich
from June 15. Customers are reminded to check entry and exit requirements at either end of their
connecting journeys.
3
Etihad Airways resuming connecting flights on June 10
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
To minimize any disruption to passengers
1
Breaking Travel News, March 22, 2020
2
Arabian Business, April 22, 2020
3
Gulf News, June 4, 2020
4
Etihad Airways, March 23, 2020
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following further extensions of its grounding, the airline has been only permitting bookings for flexible
and refundable fares for travel between June 16 and August 31.
5
Reacting to an easing of travel restrictions by the U.A.E. government, Etihad will restart flights to link 20
cities in Europe, Asia and Australia via Abu Dhabi from June 10.
6
• Asia Pacific: Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo
• Europe: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, London Heathrow, Madrid,
Milan, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Zurich
Qatar Airways rebuilding network
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
Because of the operational challenges caused by COVID-19, Qatar Airways has altered or cancelled some
of its services. The airline plans to resume the services once regular conditions return. As at June 3, 2020,
Qatar Airways was serving the following 40 destinations/airports:
8
• Americas: Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Montreal, Sao Paulo
• Asia Pacific: Colombo, Bangkok, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Islamabad, Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur,
Lahore, Manila, Melbourne, Perth, Peshawar, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo Narita
• Europe: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, London Heathrow,
Madrid, Manchester, Milan Malpensa, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna, Zurich
• Middle East: Kuwait City, Tehran
Qatar Airways has recently resumed services to Italy, Spain and Pakistan. From June 13, it will increase
flights to Dublin, Milan and Rome to a daily frequency, with flights to Venice resuming on July 15.
9
Turkish Airlines resumes domestic services in June
From March 27, Turkish Airlines temporarily suspended all international flights until May 1.
10
It
continued 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 were suspended until May 1. All passengers flying on domestic services had to submit an official
Travel Permit Document before being allowed on the aircraft.
On April 28, Turkish Airlines announced the suspension of all flights until May 28.
11
This suspension was
then extended to June 4 for domestic services and to June 10 for international flights.
5
Arabian Business, April 29, 2020
6
Breaking Travel News, June 4, 2020
7
Qatar Airways, March 23, 2020
8
Qatar Airways, June 3, 2020
9
Qatar Airways, June 3, 2020
10
Turkish Airlines, April 1, 2020
11
Turkish Airlines, April 28, 2020
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On June 4, Turkish Airlines resumed domestic operations, initially offering single daily flights from
Istanbul to Ankara, Antalya, Izmir and Trabzon.
12
By June 13, it was flying from Istanbul to 40 domestic
destinations, many with a daily service.
13
International services should resume on June 18, initially with routes to Austria, Denmark, Germany, the
Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.
14
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 June 30
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
Pegasus
Resumed limited domestic and international flights during the first half of June
Saudia
All international flights suspended. Domestic flights resuming from May 31
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
Before launching later in 2020, European operation starting flights to Abu Dhabi from
June
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.
15
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).
16
El Al suspends all flights
Israeli flag carrier El Al suspended its remaining flights on March 26 until April 4.
17
In early April it
extended the flight suspension until May 2.
18
It subsequently extended it further until May 16.
19
On June
8, El Al announced a further extension of the suspension until June 30. It continues to operate cargo and
repatriation flights.
12
Turkish Airlines, June 1, 2020
13
Turkish Airlines, June 2, 2020
14
Business Travel News, June 3, 2020
15
Breaking Travel News, April 16, 2020
16
Breaking Travel News, April 28, 2020
17
Cirium, March 26, 2020
18
El Al, April 2020
19
El Al, May 2020
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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.
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
From March 23, only Omani nationals could travel to the country. Oman Air suspended all remaining
passenger services from Muscat from March 29.
20
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.
Pegasus resumes international services
Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus relaunched domestic flights on June 1. It restored international flights
on June 13, resuming services to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands,
Switzerland and the U.K. It will gradually increase its schedule subject to approval from the Directorate
General of Civil Aviation in Turkey.
Saudia resuming domestic flights from May 31
On March 15, Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines) suspended all international flights for 14 days. By March 21,
the airline had also suspended all domestic flights for 14 days.
21
On March 29, Saudia announced an
extension of the suspension of all international and domestic flights until further notice.
At the end of April, Saudia denied reports that it was planning to resume domestic services in June.
22
However, with the government starting to ease some restrictions, Saudia subsequently confirmed plans
to resume domestic flying from May 31.
23
In the first phase, it will resume 60 daily flights. Within two
weeks, it will be allowed to fly to all domestic destinations.
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi proceeding with June launch
Ahead of the launch of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi later in 2020, Wizz Air’s European operation will launch flights
to Abu Dhabi from Budapest and Bucharest in June, subject to travel bans being lifted. Flights from Cluj-
Napoca, Katowice and Sofia will be added from September.
24
20
Breaking Travel News, March 25, 2020
21
Saudia, March 20, 2020
22
Arabian Business, April 29, 2020
23
Reuters, May 27, 2020
24
Breaking Travel News, May 5, 2020
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COVID 19 – Airline operations – Middle East| June 15, 2020 | Page 5
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 June 15, 2020. We have carefully
researched and checked the information contained. However, we do not guarantee or warrant the
correctness, completeness or topicality of this article and do not accept any liability for any damage or
loss as a result of the use of the information contained within this article.
Do you have questions or comments regarding this report? Please email mike.eggleton@bcdtravel.co.uk
to share your thoughts.
