05/03/2026
Update: ME flight suspension continues
This is a rapidly evolving situation linked to ongoing military activity in the Middle East. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
Airlines operating flights between South Africa and key Middle East hubs have announced that their operations will remain suspended, due to airspace closures across the region.
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Emirates and Qatar Airways have issued updated advisories outlining their schedule disruptions. Scheduled flight suspensions are now expected to continue until the afternoon of March 5 and the evening of March 7, depending on the carrier.
The airlines have also updated their rebooking and refund options for affected passengers.
Emirates
In an update published on March 4, Emirates announced that all scheduled flights to and from Dubai would remain suspended until 23h59 UAE time on March 7.
A limited number of passenger repatriation and freighter flights will operate during this time.
All passengers affected by the flight cancellations may rebook or reroute free of charge for travel up to March 27 within the same region, in any RBD within the same cabin. Impacted travellers may request a refund for travel booked on or before March 12.
For more details, please see Travelinfo.
Qatar Airways
In a March 4 notice, Qatar Airways confirmed that its flight operations remained suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace.
The airline said services would resume once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announced the safe reopening of airspace.
Tickets issued for travel between February 28 and March 10 may be changed by up to 14 days from the original travel date. Passengers also have the option to refund or change their flights within the permitted window.
The next update is expected on March 6 by 09h00 Doha time.
For more details, see Travelinfo.
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways has suspended all scheduled commercial flights to and from Abu Dhabi until 14h00 UAE time on March 5.
Repositioning, cargo and repatriation flights may operate in coordination with UAE authorities, subject to strict operational and safety approvals.
Etihad Airways has issued a commercial waiver for guests holding EY tickets issued on or before February 28, with original travel dates up to March 10. The waiver applies across the airlineโs entire network.
For cancelled flights, the standard schedule change policy applies, with rebooking permitted on or before March 31.
For non-cancelled flights, passengers may rebook free of charge on the lowest available booking class in the same cabin, with travel permitted up to March 10, subject to original routing. Change fees, no-show fees and service charges are waived, provided tickets are reissued on or before March 10. Refunds for non-cancelled flights remain subject to fare rules.
SAA
While SAA previously indicated that its Emirates-operated codeshare flights to and from Dubai were suspended until 15h00 UAE time on March 3, Emirates has since confirmed it will not resume its Dubai flights until 23h59 UAE time on March 7.
Customers booked on SAA codeshare Emirates-operated flights can be rebooked within the same cabin class, for travel on or before March 20.
Customers who no longer wish to travel may cancel and apply for the full value of the ticket to be credited to the Voyager Credit Wallet, valid for three years or request a full refund to the original form of payment for tickets issued on SAA (083) stock only.
The affected SAA codeshare flights operated by Emirates are:
CPT-DXB: SA7154, SA7156, SA7155, SA7157
JNB-DXB: SA7153, SA7160, SA7158, SA7162, SA7159, SA7161, SA7163, SA7152
DUR-DXB: SA7164, SA7165
This is a rapidly evolving situation linked to ongoing military activity in the Middle East. This article will be updated as more information becomโฆ
