Qatar Airways resumes limited flights as Gulf airspace crisis deepens

Thursday 12 March 2026 - 12:20

By: Dakir Madiha

Qatar Airways resumes limited flights as Gulf airspace crisis deepens

Qatar Airways has resumed a limited number of flights as the regional airspace crisis triggered by the conflict involving Iran enters its third week, leaving millions of passengers stranded and disrupting global aviation routes.

The military campaign launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28 has produced the most severe disruption to international air travel since the COVID-19 pandemic. Aviation analytics firm Cirium reported that about 37,000 flights were canceled across the Middle East during the first ten days of the conflict.

The escalation forced widespread airspace closures across Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. Retaliatory Iranian missile and drone strikes then targeted major airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha, prompting full shutdowns at several of the region’s busiest aviation hubs.

Dubai International Airport, normally the world’s busiest airport for international travel, saw scheduled flights drop by 87 percent in the days following the strikes, according to Flightradar24 data reported by CNN. At Hamad International Airport in Doha, about 93 percent of scheduled flights were canceled.

Emirates suspended all operations from its Dubai hub for an entire week, canceling more than 2,000 flights, according to Bloomberg.

Qatar Airways began restoring a partial schedule on March 9. The airline resumed flights to selected destinations including London, Delhi, and Frankfurt using restricted corridors authorized by Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority. By March 12, the carrier was operating around 15 destinations per day from Doha, far below its typical global network.

Reuters reported that more than half of the roughly 36,000 flights scheduled to and from the Middle East during the first week of the conflict were canceled, removing an estimated 4.4 million passenger seats from the market. Airlines affected include British Airways, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, and numerous regional carriers.

The crisis has also driven a sharp rise in aviation fuel prices. In Singapore, a major Asian trading hub, jet fuel surged about 140 percent from its pre-conflict closing level of 93.45 dollars per barrel on February 27 to 225.44 dollars per barrel on March 5, according to Reuters.

Air New Zealand reported jet fuel prices climbing from about 85 to 90 dollars per barrel before the conflict to a range of 150 to 200 dollars, prompting the airline to suspend its 2026 financial outlook. In the United States, the Argus Jet Fuel index rose to 3.88 dollars per gallon, compared with roughly two dollars before the conflict.

Airlines have rapidly passed higher costs on to travelers. Bloomberg reported that some airfares between Asia and Europe surged by as much as 900 percent. A one-way economy ticket from London to Singapore on Singapore Airlines reached about 8,540 dollars. Thai Airways said its Bangkok to London flights sold out at more than double typical fares.

With Iranian and Iraqi airspace still closed or heavily restricted, airlines are rerouting flights through alternative corridors using secondary hubs in Turkey, India, and Central Asia. Industry analysts say some of these route adjustments could remain even after the immediate crisis ends.

Travel analyst Henry Harteveldt told CBS News that airlines began raising fares this week as jet fuel costs surged. James Noel-Beswick of oil intelligence firm Sparta warned that fuel shortages could cause further cancellations and delays in the coming weeks.