The war in Iran is providing European airlines a rare chance to claw back some business lost to the likes of Emirates or Qatar Airways
2-MIN READ2-MINBloombergPublished: 3:28pm, 11 Mar 2026British Airways and Deutsche Lufthansa are adding flights to Asia amid increased long-haul demand as customers seek alternatives to Middle East carriers hamstrung by airspace closures at home.BA will operate more flights from London to Singapore and Bangkok this week, using aircraft that currently are not needed in the Gulf region.The airline has temporarily cut back its Middle East schedule, cancelling all Abu Dhabi flights until at least October and stopping flights to cities including Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv until later this month, according to a statement on Tuesday.
More than 43,000 flights scheduled in and out of the Middle East were cancelled between February 28 and Tuesday, according to data from analytics firm Cirium.
