Passengers hoping to fly between the UAE capital and two of Saudi Arabia's biggest cities will have to wait longer, after Etihad Airways extended its suspension of services to Riyadh and Dammam.

The airline says all passenger and cargo flights on both routes will remain cancelled through 19 November. The previously reported end date was 5 November, which means travellers who assumed normal service would resume today need to check their bookings.

Jeddah offers a partial reprieve

There is some better news for those heading to the Red Sea coast. Etihad flights EY601, EY602, EY603 and EY604 are due to resume on 6 November, and other Abu Dhabi–Jeddah services are scheduled to operate as planned. The airline has stressed that the situation is fluid and that further changes are possible, so those dates should be treated as plans rather than guarantees.

A patchwork across UAE carriers

Etihad is not alone. Emirates has cancelled several Dubai–Riyadh and Dubai–Dammam rotations, and its Jeddah schedule shows a mix of cancelled and operating flights. Dubai–Medina services are largely running. Flydubai is operating selected Saudi routes, though status information is unavailable for a number of destinations, and Air Arabia has listed a long run of cancellations from Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Beyond Saudi Arabia, services by Iranian airlines to and from the UAE remain suspended until further notice. The Emirates–flydubai codeshare to Tel Aviv also remains on hold, following the 30 September incident involving flight FZ1073, which diverted to Tabuk. That does not amount to a blanket suspension of every UAE–Tel Aviv service.

International airlines are coming back

Away from the Saudi corridor, the picture is more encouraging for Dubai's winter season. British Airways resumed London Heathrow–Dubai flights on 3 November. Lufthansa, SWISS and Eurowings are due back on 25 November, and Austrian Airlines on 12 December. Philippine Airlines, Air Astana and Aegean Airlines have already restored their services.

Airport seat capacity in the UAE reached 7.2 million in October, up 23 per cent from June, and Dubai is expected to see up to 36 weekly flights to European destinations as services return between late October and December.

Yet the recovery is uneven. Singapore Airlines has suspended its Dubai flights until 28 February 2027, Cathay Pacific until 31 January 2027, and KLM until 27 March 2027. Air Canada has paused Dubai services until the end of March 2027, Finnair for the whole 2026/27 winter season, and Virgin Atlantic does not plan a return before 2027. Luxair has pushed its comeback to February at the earliest.

New rules and tourist schemes

Several travel rules have also changed. Emirates now requires passengers travelling to or transiting through the United States to complete and sign a separate attestation confirming they have not been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the preceding 21 days. The form must be printed and carried to check-in, or to the boarding gate for connecting passengers, unless the traveller is officially exempt. The UAE has also barred entry to people who have recently been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan unless they have spent more than 21 days outside those countries.

On the tourism side, Dubai has opened applications for single-entry and multiple-entry tourist visas through the Visit Dubai website from November, with processing handled by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs. The emirate is also introducing an invitation-only Access Club for repeat visitors, with more membership details still to come.

What passengers should do now

The practical advice from airlines is consistent. Check flight status directly on your airline's app or website before leaving for the airport. Confirm connecting flights separately, and ask about rebooking and refund options if your journey is affected. Allow extra time at check-in, particularly on routes touched by the new documentation rules.

For those with Saudi-bound travel in the next two weeks, the safest assumption is that Etihad's Riyadh and Dammam flights will not operate until 19 November at the earliest. Alternatives exist, but they depend on your destination and should be confirmed with the carrier.

Looking ahead

The next checkpoint is 6 November, when Etihad's selected Jeddah flights are due to restart. After that, attention turns to whether the Riyadh and Dammam suspension is lifted on schedule or extended again, and whether more European airlines confirm their return dates before the peak holiday period begins.