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MIDDLE EAST
INDUSTRY DISRUPTIONS

The Middle East War is a rapidly evolving situation, with impact on supply chains remaining fluid.

The Radiant Network remains committed to providing our customers with customized supply chain solutions that deliver, whatever the challenge.

The coming days will require expertise in creative solutions for successful movement in and out of affected areas. These updates illustrate the need to ensure your supply chain partner is well versed in both international and domestic out-of-the-box solutions.

The Radiant Network will continue to work with valued customers: past, present and future alike, on providing assistance and problem solving for these current challenges.

If you have questions or concerns with freight or with your supply chain, please reach out to your account executive from the Radiant Network. 

This page will be updated with new information as it becomes available. 

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AIR UPDATES
OCEAN UPDATES

AIR UPDATES

Last updated September 25, 2026 at 10am PST

The Middle East air freight market remains operational but continues to face a prolonged and uneven recovery. Major Gulf hubs such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha are operating at significantly improved levels compared with the height of the disruption, and regional air cargo continues to move. However, airlines are becoming more cautious about restoring capacity, with several major international carriers extending flight suspensions rather than accelerating their return to the region.

Cathay Pacific is the latest example, extending its Dubai and Riyadh passenger flight cancellations through November 30 and postponing the resumption of its Middle East freighter operations. Cargolux also continues to keep its planned Dubai World Central restart on hold, with other Middle East destinations suspended while maintaining service to Muscat. The continued absence of these dedicated freighter services is limiting cargo capacity on certain Asia–Middle East and Europe–Middle East lanes.

Kuwait remains one of the more challenging markets. While KWI is accepting arrivals and departures, overflight restrictions remain in place, and several carriers continue to suspend or limit service to Kuwait. This continues to create additional routing complexity and makes Kuwait less predictable than the major Gulf gateways.

The situation surrounding Iran is also becoming more restrictive. New U.S. sanctions targeting Iran's aviation sector and foreign companies supporting Iranian airlines are expected to further limit Iran's connectivity to the international aviation network and complicate regional trade flows.

At the same time, air cargo demand remains resilient. Reconstruction activity across the Middle East, particularly for energy infrastructure, is generating significant demand for urgent machinery, equipment and other time-sensitive cargo. SATS has reported a substantial increase in U.S.-origin charter activity supporting Middle East reconstruction, while the broader air cargo market continues to benefit from shippers shifting freight from ocean to air when speed and reliability are critical.

Overall, the market has moved beyond the acute crisis phase but is not yet approaching a full normalization. Major Gulf hubs are functioning, but the continued postponement of airline and freighter restarts indicates that carriers remain cautious about the durability of the recovery. Capacity is therefore available, but not consistently across all destinations or routings, while strong reconstruction and time-sensitive cargo demand is helping keep certain markets tight.

For shippers, the outlook remains cautiously constructive but requires flexibility. Cargo moving through Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha can generally be planned with greater confidence, while shipments involving Kuwait, Iran or other higher-risk markets should continue to allow additional lead time and alternative routing options. Given the continued airline schedule changes, customers should secure capacity early for critical shipments and remain prepared for changes in routing, transit times and pricing.

Current Airline Updates:

CARGOLUX:

  • Temporary suspension and acceptance of all freight bound for the Middle East until further notice, with the exception of Muscat.

  • Planned restart to DWC has been placed on hold until further notice.

AIR FRANCE/KLM/MARTINAIR:

  • Suspended following flights:

    • Air France: Beirut Until September 25

    • Air France: Riyadh Until September 28
    • Air France: Dubai until October 13

    • KLM: Dubai Until October 24

    • KLM: Riyadh Until October 24

    • KLM: Dammam Until October 24

    • Martinair: Dubai until further notice

LUFTHANSA 

  • Due to the volatile situation in the Middle East and for operational reasons the Lufthansa Group Airlines will continue to suspend flights to the following destinations.
    • Dubai through October 24
    • Tel Aviv gradually restarted
    • Amman through October 24, Austrian Airlines set to resume starting Oct 2
    • Beirut through October 24
    • Dammam through October 24
    • Riyadh resumed Sep 10
    • Erbil through October 24
    • Muscat through October 24
    • Tehran through October 31
  • Lufthansa is canceling 20,000 flights through October 2026, largely due to soaring jet fuel prices and shortages caused by the conflict. The cancellations focus on short-haul European routes and older aircraft, with around 120 daily flights already impacted, including routes from Frankfurt.

ITA AIRWAYS

  • Suspended flights to and from:

    • Dubai until October 24

    • Riyadh until September 15

QATAR AIRWAYS

  • Resumed service to Bahrain (BAH), Erbil (EBL) and Kuwait (KWI).
  • Qatar Airways Cargo has published its latest schedule, reflecting the resumption of freighter and belly operations to and from Doha.
  • Qatar Airways Cargo will resume twice weekly freighter flights to Dubai World Central (DWC) on 26 April, and three times weekly Sharjah (SHJ) flights on 1 May. Qatar Airways will also resume daily passenger flights to Dubai (DXB) and Sharjah (SHJ).
  • Freighter destinations will increase to over 50 as of 1 May, while our passenger / belly-hold network will continue its expansion to over 150 destinations from 16 June.
  • The embargo on VIC – Q‑Prime Urgent Critical Cargo has been lifted as of 23 April, allowing for the highest priority on capacity-restrained flights and continuous monitoring provided by Qatar Airways Cargo’s Control Tower.
  • The following products will be available effective 1 May with bookings currently available:
    • QRLIV* – special handling codes AVF, AVM and DOC
    • LHO – live human organs and blood

UNITED

  • Flights to and from Tel Aviv and Dubai have been suspended until further notice.

EMIRATES

  • Following the partial reopening of regional airspace, Emirates has resumed passenger and freighter operations, with services now stabilizing across the network and cargo flows operating smoothly.

  • Customers may continue to plan and book shipments on available flights, subject to capacity. Transit cargo via Dubai (DXB/DWC) will be accepted where onward connections are confirmed and operational.

  • The updated list of passenger and freighter destinations for the month of April is available on the links below:

  • In addition, a scheduled Road Feeder Service (RFS) operation twice weekly has been introduced to Muscat (MCT), Bahrain (BAH), and Kuwait (KWI). Customers are requested to liaise with their local Emirates SkyCargo offices for booking and operational requirements related to these services.

  • Flight schedules remain subject to change and regulatory approvals. Customers are advised to contact their local Emirates SkyCargo office for the latest updates on schedules, capacity, and requirements.

  • Restrictions still in place:

    • Class 1 Dangerous Goods remain restricted to and from the EK network.

ETIHAD

  • Etihad Airways is currently operating a limited commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi and a number of key destinations.
  • Limited number of repositioning, cargo, and repatriation flights are operating.
  • Please check online schedule or local sales office to confirm capacity and service.
  • The United Arab Emirates carrier said it is operating ​a commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi and around 80 destinations.

AIR CANADA

  •  All flights to and from Dubai and Tel Aviv are suspended until further notice.

DHL

  • All flights to and from Middle East are temporarily suspended until further notice with the exception of the resumptions below:
    • BAH, DXB, DWC, AUH, SHJ, MCT currently open
    • Perishable now acceptable to DWC, DXB. and MCT
    • DG acceptable to all open ME destinations

IAG

  • Flights between London and Doha have resumed service.
  • Flights between London and Dubai resume on 3 November 2026.
  • Flights between London and Amman are suspended until October 2026.
  • Flights between London and Tel Aviv are suspended until October 2026.
  • Flights between Madrid and Doha are suspended until October 2026.
  • Flights between London and Riyadh are suspended until October 2026.
  • Flights between London and Bahrain are suspended until March 2027.
  • Flights between London and Larnaca are operating on a reduced schedule.
  • Flights between London and Abu Dhabi are suspended until further notice.
  • Flights between London and Jeddah are suspended until further notice.

TURKISH

  • Flights to Dubai fully restored June 9.

  • Flights to Abu Dhabi starting July 1.

  • Flights to Doha fully restored.

  • While some flights to Amman and Beirut have resumed, operations remain subject to schedule adjustments.

SILKWAY

  • All scheduled destinations have resumed with the exception of Kuwait.

CATHAY

  • Resumption of passenger service to Dubai and Riyadh postponed to November 30.
  • Freighter service to Riyadh postponed. No ETA for resumption.

VIRGIN

  • Service to and from DXB has been suspended for the season. Planned return Winter 2026.

  • Services to and from Riyadh are now cancelled indefinitely.

  • The situation remains dynamic, and they are actively monitoring. Confirm with local sales and customer service before booking.

FINNAIR

  • Flights suspended to Dubai until October 2027.

  • Finnair also announced it will not operate flights to Doha for the upcoming 2026-27 Winter Schedule.

AIR INDIA

  • Full flight network across the GCC have been restored.

GULF AIR

  • Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has announced a near-full return to normal operations, with 75% of its global network and destinations reinstated. Over the past several weeks, the airline has gradually resumed services across the Middle East, Europe, Indian Subcontinent, and Africa, resuming services to more destinations and reconnecting an increasing number of passengers through the Kingdom of Bahrain.
  • Gulf Air confirmed that flight frequency continues to grow, with services now operating across 40 destinations in 24 countries, representing 75% of network, underlining the airline’s swift and structured return to full operations. Gulf Air continues to add flights and increase daily frequencies across its network in a phased approach leading to full restoration by 1 June 2026.

ROYAL JORDANIAN

  •  Flights will resume as long as airspace remains open. Flights have been cancelled to any closed airspace.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES

  •  SQ494 and SQ495 to and from Dubai suspended until October 24.

CHALLENGE AIRLINES

  •  Continuing to operate full flight schedule despite current Middle East disruptions.



OCEAN UPDATES

Last updated October 1, 2026, at 10am PST

Ocean freight operations across the Middle East remain fluid as carriers continue to closely monitor security conditions throughout the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz.

Red Sea / Suez Canal:

There are signs of gradual improvement, with several carriers selectively restoring Suez Canal routings. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have begun transitioning additional Asia–Europe and Asia–Mediterranean services back through the Suez Canal, while MSC has also resumed limited Suez transits on select services. These changes may improve transit times on affected trade lanes; however, carriers continue to evaluate routings on a service-by-service basis and contingency plans remain in place should security conditions change. 

Persian Gulf / Strait of Hormuz:

Conditions remain more constrained. Persian Gulf ports are operational, but most carriers continue to exercise caution with routine Strait of Hormuz transits. Direct service availability may vary by carrier and destination, with feeder and land bridge solutions continuing to support cargo movement throughout the Gulf.

Port & Schedule Conditions:

Congestion remains a concern at several regional gateways. Jeddah continues to experience congestion, while Salalah has reported elevated yard utilization and berthing delays. Dammam is currently operating without significant container congestion, and alternative gateways including Khor Fakkan and Fujairah continue to support Gulf cargo routings.

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