Updated Monday 13 April at 09:30
The ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran is having positive effects on air transport in the Near and Middle East. While European or Asian airlines are maintaining the suspension of their routes to several destinations – Air France has extended the halt of its flights to Dubai, Riyadh, Tel Aviv and Beirut until May 3rd, while Cathay Pacific has pushed back the suspension of its routes to Riyadh and Dubai from the end of May to the end of June – several airlines in the region are expanding their flight schedules.
EL AL, for example, which had only planned for essential activity at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv until April 18th, announced " a gradual return » to its usual flight schedule from next week. Following new directives from the Israeli Home Front Command, the company will no longer be limited to 8 destinations served but is extending its offer to around forty cities, most of them in Europe. « Throughout the month, we will continue to progressively extend the number of destinations, until a full return to our operations across our entire network. "says the company.
While waiting for Paris, London, Milan, Rome and Athens, as well as New York (JFK and Newark), Miami and Los Angeles, all these routes already offered will remain on the programme. Marseille will be added from this week, as well as, among others, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Batumi, Berlin, Bucharest, Budapest, Frankfurt, Larnaca, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Prague, Sofia, Tbilisi, Vienna, Warsaw and Zurich. Three flights to Asia – Bangkok, Phuket and Tokyo – and another to Boston will also be on the programme.
It should be noted that EL AL no longer mentions a limited number of passengers for flights departing from Israel, but also specifies that ticket sales departing from Tel Aviv remain suspended until April 18. While highlighting " "due to operational complexity and the reorganisation of the flight schedule, a return to full operations will not be immediate and will be carried out in stages". "Consequently, in the short term, some flights may still be subject to changes or cancellations". « warns the Israeli company.
Gulf Air back in Bahrain
For its part, Gulf Air will be able to resume flights from Bahrain following the reopening of the Kingdom's airspace. Until now, the airline had resumed limited activity, but it was diverted to Dammam Airport in Saudi Arabia, 85 kilometres away. " We announce the progressive resumption of our flight operations from Bahrain International Airport. "says the company.
In this context, Gulf Air will offer a daily Bahrain-London route until April 20th, whereas daily flights to the British capital previously departed from Dammam. The other planned routes from Bahrain to this destination concern Asia and the Middle East, notably Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah, Islamabad and Lahore, in addition to Nairobi and Istanbul.
However, the company is maintaining the postponement of certain routes to King Fahd Airport in Dammam, with Paris and Frankfurt no longer part of this programme, unlike in recent weeks. In contrast, routes to Athens, Casablanca, Cairo, Manila, Mumbai and Chennai, Bangkok, Islamabad and Lahore are being offered until at least April 20th, and until the end of the month for some.
Unlike Gulf Air, Kuwait Airlines, which uses Dammam airport like the Bahraini airline to maintain part of its activity, has not yet announced the resumption of its flights at Kuwait International Airport. Recently, Kuwait Airlines had even announced that it would increase the number of flights offered to Dammam in April, which now covers 13 destinations: Paris, London, Istanbul, Amman, Cairo, Lahore, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Colombo, Chennai, Kochi and Manila. Please note that passengers are transferred by bus from Al Khairan mall in Kuwait to King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.
An expanded offer for Gulf companies
The current relative lull should not change the upward trend in the flight programmes of Gulf airlines, which has been growing for some time. Emirates has returned to an offering close to its pre-conflict network, serving 127 destinations. Among these, from 29 March to 30 April, Paris with two daily flights, Nice with five flights per week, and Lyon with three weekly flights on an A350. Similarly, Etihad has expanded its programme with 80 destinations served from or to Abu Dhabi, including two daily connections to Paris-CDG. For its part, Qatar Airways estimates it will be able to offer more than 120 destinations on its global network by mid-May, with the airline already serving Paris with a daily flight, and a return of flights to Nice expected from 16 May.
In parallel, if Middle East Airlines continues to have a disrupted service in Beirut, Royal Jordanian and Oman Air are offering an almost normal flight schedule, particularly to European capitals. The Jordanian airline has even managed to celebrate the launch of two routes from Amman to Hamburg and Munich in this context at the end of March, using an A320Neo. It remains to be seen whether the coming days or weeks will prolong this improvement.
