Breaking news

Middle East Tensions Force Airlines To Cancel Flights Worldwide

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

March 5, 2026

Global air travel is facing widespread disruption following the escalation of conflict involving Iran, which has led to the temporary closure of several major aviation hubs in the Middle East, including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. According to Reuters, tens of thousands of passengers have been affected as airlines suspend flights and reroute aircraft to avoid closed airspace. Among those impacted are travellers from Cyprus whose journeys have been delayed or cancelled.

Airspace restrictions across parts of the Middle East have forced carriers to reassess flight schedules and suspend services to several destinations in the region.

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Strategic Flight Suspensions Across Leading Carriers

Airlines around the world have responded by temporarily suspending routes or delaying operations involving Middle Eastern destinations.

Below is an overview of the suspension schedules announced by several major carriers:

Aegean Airlines: Flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Erbil and Baghdad are suspended until early arrivals on March 10. Services involving Dubai and Abu Dhabi are halted until the evening of March 6, while flights to Riyadh and Jeddah are postponed until early arrivals on March 7.

airBaltic: All flights to and from Tel Aviv are cancelled until March 9. Services involving Dubai are suspended until March 6.

Air Canada: Flights connecting Dubai and Tel Aviv are suspended until March 22, with operations expected to resume on March 23.

Air Europa: Flights to Tel Aviv are cancelled until March 9.

Air France: Services to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh are suspended until March 5.

KLM: Flights to Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam are suspended until March 9, while routes to Tel Aviv remain suspended for the remainder of the winter season.

Air India: All flights to and from the Middle East remain suspended until March 3.

Cathay Pacific: Flights between Dubai and Riyadh are cancelled until March 14.

Delta Air Lines: The New York (JFK)–Tel Aviv route is suspended until March 8, with return flights cancelled until March 9.

El Al: All flights to and from Israel are cancelled until 02:00 on March 5.

Emirates: A limited number of flights resumed from the evening of March 2, while other services remain suspended.

Etihad Airways: All services to and from Abu Dhabi are suspended until 10:00 GMT on March 4.

Finnair: Flights to Doha and Dubai are cancelled until March 29. Aircraft are avoiding airspace over Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel.

British Airways: Flights to Amman, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv are cancelled until March 5.

Iberia Express: All routes to Tel Aviv are suspended until March 10.

IndiGo: Flights using Middle Eastern airspace are suspended until at least March 2, with cancellations extending until March 5.

ITA Airways: Flights to Tel Aviv are suspended and access to airspace over Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Iran is restricted until March 8. Dubai routes are cancelled until March 4, while services to Riyadh are affected between March 2 and March 4.

Japan Airlines: The Tokyo–Doha route is suspended from February 28 to March 7, with the Doha–Tokyo return cancelled on March 8.

LOT Polish Airlines: Flights to Tel Aviv are cancelled until March 18. Services involving Dubai are postponed until March 4 and Riyadh routes suspended until March 8.

Lufthansa: Flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Dammam, Erbil and Tehran are suspended until March 8. Dubai services remain cancelled until March 4.

Malaysia Airlines: Flights to Doha, Jeddah and Medina are suspended until March 4.

Norwegian Air: Planned services to Tel Aviv and Beirut are postponed until June 15.

Pegasus Airlines: Flights to Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon are cancelled until March 6, while services to Iran are postponed until March 12.

Qatar Airways: All flights to and from Doha are suspended due to airspace closures.

Singapore Airlines: Flights to and from Dubai are cancelled until March 7. Scoot has also suspended flights to Jeddah until the same date.

TAROM: Flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut and Amman are suspended until March 2, with operations on March 3 under review.

Turkish Airlines: Numerous flights to Bahrain, Dammam, Riyadh and destinations including Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria and the UAE are cancelled.

TUS Airways: All flights to and from Israel are suspended until March 8.

Virgin Atlantic: Flights to Riyadh and Dubai are cancelled until March 2, with the Dubai–London route suspended on March 3.

Wizz Air: Flights to Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Amman and Saudi Arabia are suspended until March 7.

Impact on Cyprus Air Travel and Larnaca Airport

The ripple effects of these airline decisions are also being felt in Cyprus. Hermes Airports, the operating company for Cypriot airports, has reported additional disruptions. At Larnaca Airport, from 07:00 this morning until midnight, 26 arrivals have been cancelled, along with 25 scheduled departures. These cancellations primarily affect routes connecting the Middle East and, notably, Israel, as well as flights from key European markets such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and Austria.

Passengers are advised to contact their respective airlines or travel agents for the latest updates before proceeding to the airport. For further information, visit Hermes Airports.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

Meta Bets On AI To Strengthen Facebook’s Appeal Among Creators

Meta is expanding its use of artificial intelligence to strengthen Facebook’s appeal among creators, unveiling plans to transform Creator Studio into a standalone AI-powered companion app designed to simplify content management and audience growth.

An AI Assistant Built Around Creator Workflows

Announced on Wednesday, the new app is currently being tested with a select group of creators and incorporates Facebook’s recently launched AI creator assistant. According to Meta, the tool provides personalised recommendations based on a creator’s content, audience engagement, performance metrics and growth objectives.

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Rather than navigating multiple dashboards and analytics reports, creators will be able to ask questions directly in a conversational format. Queries such as when to post, how content is performing or what audiences are discussing in the comments can be answered through the assistant, with follow-up prompts offering deeper insights into engagement trends.

From Analytics To Action

Beyond reporting performance data, the platform is designed to help creators act on those insights. A new AI-powered comment management tool will identify priority interactions and suggest responses tailored to the creator’s tone and style. Suggested replies can be reviewed and edited before publication, allowing creators to maintain control over their communication while reducing the time spent managing engagement.

Daily recommendations will also be integrated into the app, highlighting key tasks such as reviewing recent content performance, tracking progress toward audience goals and responding to important comments. The aim is to turn Creator Studio into a more comprehensive productivity tool rather than a traditional analytics platform.

Why Meta Is Pushing Harder For Creators

The initiative comes as competition for creators intensifies across social media platforms. Facebook continues to compete with TikTok and YouTube for audience attention, making creator retention an increasingly important priority. By embedding AI more deeply into creator workflows, Meta is seeking to make content planning, performance analysis and community management easier without requiring users to rely on external tools.

Keeping more of those activities within Facebook’s ecosystem could help strengthen creator engagement while reducing dependence on third-party AI platforms for brainstorming, analytics and audience insights.

Part Of A Broader App Expansion Strategy

Wednesday’s announcement fits into a broader pattern of product launches from Meta. Last month, the company introduced Forum, a stand-alone app for Facebook Groups that functions similarly to Reddit. In April, it launched Instants, an app for sharing disappearing photos with Instagram friends.

The pipeline appears to be growing. The New York Times reported this week that Meta is also building a prediction-market app internally known as Arena, though it has not yet launched. Taken together, these products suggest a company that is increasingly comfortable spinning up focused apps around specific use cases instead of relying solely on its flagship platforms.

That approach aligns with comments CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly made to employees earlier this year, when he pointed to AI-driven efficiencies as a way for Meta to build more apps than it historically has. The message is clear: Meta is not just adding AI features. It is reorganizing product strategy around them.