- Insurance constraints are delaying the return of some foreign airlines to Dubai as US-Iran hostilities raise operational risk across the region.
- Dubai International Airport is still operating near full capacity, but war-related travel advisories and rerouting pressures continue to affect airline planning.
- Gulf insurers have adjusted networks and cut some operations, while many European airlines have suspended flights to parts of the Middle East or narrowed flight paths to avoid conflict zones.
Insurance problems are slowing the return of some foreign airlines to Dubai as hostilities between the US and Iran intensify, according to Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports.
International carrier activity at Dubai continues to grow. Some major European airlines still aren’t returning, Griffiths said, because government travel advisories continue to cover parts of the region. He said those carriers are having trouble securing insurance for their operations, according to Bloomberg.
Griffiths made the comments during a renewed exchange of strikes between the US and Iran. Even with the flare-up, Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest hubs, continues to run normally, he said. The airport is operating close to full capacity.
Dubai’s main hub delayed its passenger target earlier this year after the war weakened travel demand to the Middle East. Airspace closures also forced airlines to reroute flights, adding time, cost and operational pressure.
Aviation has taken one of the sharper hits from the conflict. Airstrikes and interception debris damaged infrastructure at some regional hubs, and insurers have treated parts of the airspace with more caution.
Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways reduced operations and reworked international networks to match wartime demand.
Emirates flew near-empty aircraft into its Dubai hub at some points as travelers tried to avoid the Persian Gulf. The carrier recently started offering war travel insurance to passengers.
Most European airlines have suspended flights to large parts of the region, including Bahrain and Israel. Carriers have also taken a more conservative view of flight paths, avoiding possible conflict zones and narrowing the corridors used on routes through the Middle East to Asia.
