Etihad and Emirates Cancel Kuwait Flights as Gulf War Risk Deepens

Etihad, Emirates and Air Arabia cancelled flights between the UAE and Kuwait City for July 19 and 20 after fresh Iranian missile and drone strikes hit Kuwaiti oil and power infrastructure. Kuwait’s armed forces said they intercepted several ballistic missiles overnight.

The cancellations are the visible part of a bigger shift. Five months into the war between Iran and US-Israeli forces, airlines and insurers have stopped treating Gulf disruption as a scramble and started pricing it like a season. Foreign carriers are now booked out of Dubai and Riyadh into October, and Kuwait’s own airspace stays closed to overflights until at least August 4.

Kuwait’s Airspace Takes Another Hit

Sunday marks the second straight day of disruption at Kuwait International Airport. Etihad listed flights EY653 and EY654, its Abu Dhabi to Kuwait City service, as cancelled for July 19 and 20, citing operational reasons. Etihad is asking affected travellers to confirm contact details for rebooking updates so it can reach them by SMS or email.

Emirates cancelled its entire Dubai-Kuwait schedule for the day. Air Arabia pulled its Sharjah-Kuwait and Abu Dhabi-Kuwait services in both directions, though two flights, 3L023 from Kuwait to Abu Dhabi and G9122 from Kuwait to Sharjah, had not yet departed at the time of the update.

flydubai has issued no separate update on its Kuwait routes. Its confirmed disruption sits roughly a thousand kilometres south, on the Dubai-Abha corridor into Saudi Arabia.

Missiles Reach an Oil Facility and a Power Plant

Gulf News reported that Kuwait Petroleum Corporation confirmed a vital oil facility was hit in the latest strikes, causing injuries and significant material damage. A second attack struck an electricity generation and water desalination plant, sparking fires at the site.

Kuwait’s armed forces said they intercepted several ballistic missiles and hostile drones that entered the country’s airspace overnight, and confirmed injuries among military personnel following strikes on defence facilities.

Kuwait Airways rescheduled most of its commercial flights after takeoff and landing operations were temporarily suspended. The national carrier is sending automated SMS and email alerts to passengers using the contact details on file.

Kuwait is not the only Gulf energy system absorbing risk this year. Saudi Arabia has leaned on an alternate export route to avoid the Strait of Hormuz entirely; Saudi Arabia’s overland pipeline nearing capacity has become the kingdom’s main hedge as tanker owners weigh the same war risk that grounded today’s Kuwait flights.

Four Saudi Airports Stay Shut to the South

A separate front is grounding flights south of the Gulf. Aviation intelligence group OPSGROUP said four southern airports shut by Houthi strikes this month: Abha, Jizan, Najran and Sharurah.

flydubai’s Dubai-Abha route remains affected. Flight FZ811 was cancelled while FZ815 operated as scheduled. Air Arabia’s Sharjah-Abha service has also faced repeated cancellations.

Domestic Saudi flights connecting Abha with Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Medina and Tabuk continue operating. The closures are hitting cross-border and international connections, not the kingdom’s internal network.

The strain has been building for days. Travel And Tour World, tracking FlightAware data, counted 249 cancellations and 887 delays across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Oman on July 16, with Abha alone logging 52 of those cancellations.

The Insurance Bill Passengers Never See

Every cancellation carries a cost that never shows up on a departure board. Insurance Business reported that Emirates is paying $100,000 a week in extra premiums to cover its entire Gulf-facing fleet, citing insurance executives with direct knowledge of the arrangements.

Rival international carriers are being quoted between $70,000 and $150,000 per individual flight landing in the Gulf, according to the same report. One insurance executive called Emirates’ rate “outrageously low” given how sharply underwriters have repriced the region since February.

John Strickland, an aviation analyst, told the Financial Times that elevated insurance costs alone could act as a “show-stopper” for international carriers weighing a return to Middle East routes, Insurance Business reported.

Gulf-based carriers, including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, are getting better terms than outside rivals. Executives cited in the report pointed to their operational experience flying tightly controlled corridors in and out of Dubai, with military coordination on clearance procedures.

The same war has been repricing risk well beyond aviation. Sensex and Nifty’s rally through war risk shows equity investors reading the five-month standoff differently than underwriters do.

Foreign Carriers Push Suspensions Into October

UAE hub carriers are still flying, but many international airlines have stopped treating the disruption as short term. Arabian Business reported a wave of schedule changes stretching deep into autumn.

• Cathay Pacific – postponed its daily Hong Kong to Dubai return from September 1 to October 25, with Riyadh service resuming October 26
• Lufthansa and SWISS – keeping Dubai services suspended through September 13, with Abu Dhabi routes pulled until October 24
• Air Canada, airBaltic and ITA Airways – listing Dubai suspensions through October 24
• Aegean Airlines – cancelling Dubai flights through August 31
• British Airways – schedules show Dubai flights resuming October 25

Not every airline is retreating. Etihad doubled its Abu Dhabi to Kabul service from one to two daily flights on July 15, while Air India Express launched new Navi Mumbai to Abu Dhabi flights the same day. SunExpress restored its Antalya to Dubai route on July 15 as well.

Five Months of Ceasefires That Did Not Hold

The Kuwait strikes and the Saudi airport closures are the latest turns in a war now in its fifth month.

1. February 28, 2026: US and Israeli strikes hit Iran. Tehran retaliates, and at least eight countries, including the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, shut their airspace.
2. April 8, 2026: A US-Iran ceasefire takes hold, and Gulf airspace begins reopening in phases.
3. June 17, 2026: Washington and Tehran sign a memorandum extending the truce by 60 days.
4. July 7, 2026: US strikes resume near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliates with missile and drone attacks on American bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.
5. July 14, 2026: EASA tells European operators to avoid Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and parts of the Gulf of Oman at all altitudes.
6. Mid-July 2026: A Houthi missile and drone attack shuts four airports in southern Saudi Arabia.
7. July 19, 2026: Fresh Iranian missile and drone strikes hit Kuwaiti oil and power facilities, grounding Etihad, Emirates and Air Arabia services to Kuwait City.

Two dates now matter more than any single day’s cancellation list. EASA extended its formal warning through July 29, and Kuwait’s own restriction on overflights, arrivals and departures aside, is due to run until at least August 4.

What Should Passengers Do Before Flying This Week?

Check flight status directly with the airline, confirm contact details are current, and build in extra time at Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, where rerouted long-haul traffic is adding congestion even on unaffected routes.

Emirates says it continues operating its wider network and has expanded services across some destinations, with rebooking and refund options depending on individual ticket conditions.

flydubai is telling passengers departing Dubai International Airport to arrive at least four hours before departure during the summer peak, regardless of whether their specific route is affected.

Air Arabia continues flying from Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah. Its main disruption stays confined to the Kuwait and Abha routes for now.

UAE airports remain operational. Kuwait’s accepts arrivals and departures only, Abha’s stays shut to the south, and the next formal review of the region’s airspace warnings falls on July 29.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dubai International Airport still open right now?

Yes. Dubai International Airport remains open and Emirates says it is running its full network, though rerouted long-haul traffic has pushed up delays. FlightAware data cited by Travel And Tour World recorded roughly 300 delayed flights at Dubai on July 16 alone, even though cancellations there stayed in single digits.

Which Saudi Arabian airports are closed because of the conflict?

Abha, Jizan, Najran and Sharurah in southern Saudi Arabia remain closed after a Houthi missile and drone attack this month. Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International absorbed the heaviest single-day toll among major commercial airports in the same tracking window, with 58 flights cancelled, according to FlightAware data cited by Travel And Tour World.

Why are flights around the Gulf taking longer than usual?

Airlines are rerouting around closed or restricted airspace over Kuwait, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, which can add hours to a journey and occasionally forces a technical fuel stop that would not otherwise be needed. Long-haul carriers between Europe and Asia are mostly using a southern corridor through Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Oman, or a northern path via the Caucasus and Afghanistan.

Can passengers get refunds for these war-related cancellations?

Refunds depend on each airline’s own conditions of carriage, and most standard travel insurance policies exclude cancellations caused by war or hostilities. Trip delay or trip interruption benefits typically only apply once an airline has actually cancelled or suspended a service, not if a passenger simply decides not to fly out of fear of the conflict.