British Airways announced on Thursday that it will reduce its flight operations to the Middle East once services resume, permanently removing Jeddah from its destinations. Instead, the airline will increase capacity to India and Africa, responding to ongoing regional tensions that have disrupted flight schedules and dampened demand.
The adjustments come after significant disruptions caused by the escalation of the U.S.-Israeli conflict against Iran, which led to the cancellation of over 21,000 flights. This conflict has further restricted an already limited long-haul flight corridor between Europe and Asia, complicating operations for international carriers.
Owned by IAG, British Airways had suspended some flights following the outbreak of hostilities in late February. From July 1, the airline plans to reduce flights to Dubai, Doha, and Tel Aviv to a single daily service. Additionally, services to Riyadh will be cut from two daily flights to one starting mid-May.
Meanwhile, British Airways will redeploy aircraft freed from Middle East routes to increase daily flights to Bengaluru and Nairobi, as well as expand capacity on its routes to Delhi and Hyderabad. The airline emphasized it is continuously monitoring the situation and maintaining direct communication with affected passengers, offering various options to accommodate them.
These schedule changes will remain in effect through the summer season, ending on October 24. Notably, one Dubai service is set to resume on October 16.
