UAE flights to Iran, Jordan, Iraq, Israel, Syria face more disruptions
UAE carriers have extended suspension of flights across several countries in the region amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.
Etihad Airways has extended its flight suspension to Jordan and Israel until at least June 22, while travellers transiting through Abu Dhabi to connect to cancelled flights will not be accepted at their point of origin.
Flydubai, on Tuesday, also announced flights to Iran, Iraq, Israel and Syria will remain suspended until at least June 30, while flights to Jordan and Lebanon have resumed.
Emirates flights to Jordan and Lebanon are suspended until June 22, and to Iran and Iraq until June 30.
Meanwhile, Air Arabia has suspended flights to Iran and Iraq until June 30, and Jordan and Russia until June 20.
The UAE's Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Port Security has imposed additional measures at airports to ensure uninterrupted airport operations and activated its emergency business continuity plan.
Extra teams were deployed to airports and support was also being provided for stranded passengers, including temporary accommodation, logistical help and accurate travel information.
The UAE on Tuesday also announced Iranian nationals currently in the UAE will be exempt from overstay fines caused by delays in leaving the country.
The conflict between Israel and Iran rolled into into sixth day on Wednesday, widening fears of it spilling over into the region.
The UAE has called for urgent regional and international action to prevent further military escalation in the Middle East and avoid the widening of conflict, while expressing support for Iran during these "challenging times".
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The National
an hour ago
- The National
War forces Iranians to take buses home from Turkey
On a busy motorway in central Istanbul's Aksaray area, white coaches printed with Farsi slogans stood parked at the side of the road on Friday as travellers milled about smoking and drinking from bottles of water before taking their seats for the 36-hour ride to Tehran. 'It's their home, what would you do if something like this happened in your country? You would want to go home,' says Abofazl, a coach driver from northern Iran. He was making his third such journey after Israel began launching attacks attack on Iran on June 13, forcing the closure of airspace across the region. 'I am sad, it's my country," he told The National."They don't care about the Iranian people. They are doing this for their own benefit." Iran has retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, and the death toll and destruction on both sides continues to rise. With airline services cancelled, Iranians are taking the overland route home from Turkey through one of the three crossing points along its 534km border with Iran. According to travel company managers who spoke to The National, thousands of Iranians have made the journey already, paying between 4,000-5,000 Turkish lira ($100-126) for a ticket. Nazmi Guven, a tourism and travel manager in Aksaray, said hundreds of Iranians had taken coaches home each day in the past week. 'It was 400-500 people a day at the beginning of the week, now it's a bit less,' he told The National, as a worker beside him filled out a passenger manifest and fixed stickers to the back of each traveller's passport. Passengers milled around travel company offices, whose windows were filled with signs offering 'VIP' services, including coaches with Wi-Fi and beds. Many suitcases bore airport luggage tags, suggesting their owners were not returning home the same way they came. In interviews, Iranians said they wanted to go home to be with their families, especially because internet shutdowns in Iran had made remote communication difficult. The majority of Iranian internet users had been without a connection for 36 hours, the London-based NetBlocks internet observatory group said on Friday morning. Most Iranians who spoke to The National did not want their names and personal information revealed, because of the sensitivity around talking to journalists. I don't know what will happen, but if it escalates more then at least I am there. Iranian in Turkey returning home via land border A painter in his 20s who has been living in Turkey for eight years said he was going back to Golestan, a region on Iran's border with Turkmenistan, to be with his family. 'I am only going back because of the war,' he told The National. 'I haven't been able to speak to my family for a week. My wife and parents didn't tell me to come back, I wanted to go back. "I don't know what will happen, but if it escalates more then at least I am there.' Iranians described relief at being able to return home to see their families, but also apprehension over an unknown future. One of the waiting passengers said he arrived in Istanbul from Australia at 5am on June 13, planning to take a flight onwards to Iran to visit family members in Tabriz whom he had not seen in years. Just as he arrived, Israel began striking Iran, and the airspace was closed. A week later, the man in his 40s, who declined to give his name, is making the trip by coach. 'I am planning to spend just a few days in Iran. I feel stressed, confused, I don't know what is happening,' he said. Asked what he would do if he could not leave Iran, he replied, 'I honestly don't know.' Some of the Iranians going home were on holiday in Turkey. It is one of the few countries that Iranians can enter visa-free, and 3.3 million visited the country last year, according to Turkish government statistics. Other Iranians were abroad elsewhere when the conflict broke out. Their original travel plans foiled by airspace closures, they found themselves rerouted through Turkey instead. Wearing a blue tropical print shirt, a 35-year-old chemical engineer from Shiraz said he was on holiday in Malaysia and Singapore when the Israel strikes began. His flight home through Sharjah in the UAE was cancelled, forcing him to take the land route home from Turkey instead. 'The bus journey is so long,' he said as he waited for his coach to depart. 'I feel like a homeless person.' For some, the war has prompted them to return home permanently after living and working in Turkey for many years. According to Turkish migration authorities, 74,000 Iranians have residency permits in the country. 'This is the end of my time in Turkey; it's a good thing,' a carpenter in his 20s from the north-eastern city of Gonbad-e Qabus told The National with a smile. 'I am far away from my family. It has become much more expensive here. It's not good,' he said. A loaf of bread that cost 1.5 lira when he arrived before the coronavirus pandemic has gone up to as much as 50 lira, he added. 'Even if we lose our work, we are going back to Iran.' Even those Iranians who do not support their Islamist government opposed Israel's strikes on their country, which have killed many civilians besides senior military leaders and nuclear scientists. Many see indifference towards Iranians' suffering, or outright support for Israel, from western government officials. 'Israel, the UK and US don't care about the Iranian people's interests, they are looking out for their own interests - oil, gas and economic interests,' said Mr Sheikh, the travel company manager, said. 'Their hearts aren't bleeding for us."
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Maersk temporarily halts operations at Israel's Haifa port after Iran strikes
Danish shipping and logistics behemoth Maersk has temporarily halted operations at Israel's Haifa port, amid the country's escalating conflict with Iran. In a statement released on Friday, Maersk said it decided to suspend operations after 'careful analysis of threat risk reports in the context of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, specifically regarding the potential risks of calling Israeli ports and the ensuing implications for the safety of our vessel crews'. Maersk said it was in close contact with customers "impacted by this decision and are working to provide alternative transport solutions to minimise disruption". The company said it was continuing to operate at Ashdod and that it had not experienced any other issues in its other operations in the region. Israel and Iran have been locked in conflict since Israel launched unprovoked air strikes against Iran on 13 June, in what is widely being seen as an attempt to derail an Iranian nuclear deal with the US and exercise regime change in Tehran. More than 639 people have been killed in Iran, with Israel hitting residential areas and hospitals, along with strikes on military sites. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters In Israel, the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa have also incurred heavy damage following Iran's retaliatory missile strikes. Escalating tensions Mearsk has been under pressure from pro-Palestine activists to suspend all business ties with Israel, given its role in transporting weapons from the US to Israel for the war effort in Gaza. More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel's war on Gaza, which several countries, as well as many international rights groups and experts, now qualify as an act of genocide. Despite the efforts to push for Maersk to stop being involved in what critics call the "supply chain of death", the company has refused to halt operations with Israel. Maersk's decision to halt operations in Haifa came days after Bazan, Israel's largest oil refinery, stopped work in Haifa after it was hit by an Iranian-fired ballistic missile. Three workers were killed in the strike. Following escalating tensions, Maersk issued a statement on Monday, advising teams to work remotely as a precautionary measure. Haifa Port, Gautam Adani and Israel's plan for the Middle East Read More » However, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, which has a majority stake in Haifa Port, said operations were still moving smoothly despite the missile strike at the nearby oil refinery. Shrapnel from the missile strike was reportedly found at the port. Adani's purchase of the Haifa Port in 2023 is seen as integral to transforming it into a major international port, as part of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). IMEC aims to build a new trade passage from India to Europe, via the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel as a counter to China's Belt and Road Initiative. Haifa Port handles about 20 million tons of cargo annually, which makes it among the busiest ports in Israel. Adani Ports did not immediately reply to Middle East Eye's request for comment.
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Has Europe given Iran an impossible nuclear ultimatum?
European negotiators have insisted Iran must accept that it cannot enrich uranium as part of its nuclear programme, so that peace can return to the Middle East, experts told The National. It is understood that Iran has been agreeable to limiting enrichment to 3.67 per cent, which is the standard level required for civilian nuclear reactors and was part of the previous nuclear agreement. But even this amount is unacceptable to the three European countries, Britain, France and Germany, currently holding talks with Iran in Geneva. 'The Europeans have now started insisting on zero as well, which the Iranians have said is going to be a non-starter,' said Darya Dolzikova, an expert on nuclear proliferation at the Rusi think tank. Iran has engaged in years of brinkmanship by defying international inspectors to enrich uranium to near weapons-grade level. Until the Israeli attacks of the last week, the threat of an assault on its installations seemed to have 'lacked some credibility for the Iranians'. In recent days the regime has appeared to accept the 3.67 per cent figure as a negotiating position, the same amount agreed under the 2015 JCPOA nuclear agreement. For any deal to last it will have to be signed off by US President Donald Trump who has also insisted on zero enrichment, said Richard Pater, director of Bicom, the Anglo-Israeli think tank. 'It all depends on whether 3.67 is acceptable to Trump or whether he's insisting on no enrichment whatsoever,' he said. 'But it's also this question of whether Trump will accept that [3.67 per cent] to get the big peace deal that he wants. Israel will then have no choice but to acquiesce to the American position.' Ms Dolzikova also argued that the Iranians would not agree to a deal that 'doesn't involve the United States as they are the critical players'. But Israel itself has insisted that it will not back down until Iran completely ends its nuclear programme and has made clear that any uranium enrichment on Iranian soil is something that it will not accept. Hasan Al Hasan, a nuclear expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, suggested that the 3.67 per cent figure was now redundant as 'there is no indication that Israel is in a mood to negotiate'. Having achieved near total freedom of action in the skies, Israel was likely to 'press ahead with its maximalist war objectives of eliminating Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and perhaps even regime change'. He added that Mr Trump's announcement that he would make no decision on joining the attacks - that would benefit from America's massive bunker-busting bombs - for the next two weeks was a signal for Israel to 'get the job done' in that period. But there is also a question whether within that fortnight window Israel, without US bombs, has the capability to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities. 'Israel is obviously probably more bullish right now and looking for the removal of the whole nuclear project in its entirety, but it remains to be seen whether that's in their gift,' said Ms Dolzikova. There is also a fear that if 3.67 per cent is agreed by Iran then it might in secret enrich uranium, and conduct a nuclear weaponisation programme viewing it as the only effective deterrent. 'If the regime survives this, then 3.67 per cent gives them another basis with which to start again,' said Mr Pater. 'Israel is under no illusion the Iranians given the chance, will do it all over again.'
