Middle East aviation disruption eases as UK flight cancellations fall sharply

UPDATE: 02/04/2026

Air travel disruption across the Middle East aviation network is showing signs of easing, with new data from Cirium indicating a sharp decline in cancellations on UK routes as of 1 April 2026.

The latest figures show that 165 flights were scheduled to depart the UK to Middle Eastern destinations, with just five cancellations recorded by 12:30 UK time, representing a cancellation rate of 3.03%. This marks a significant improvement compared with conditions earlier in March, when disruption exceeded 50% across the wider regional network.

The most notable disruption on UK outbound routes was recorded on services to Kuwait, where both scheduled flights were cancelled, resulting in a 100% cancellation rate. Saudi Arabia also saw some impact, with three of 11 flights cancelled, equating to 27.27%. All other monitored routes, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye, operated without cancellations at the time of reporting.

Inbound services to the UK show a similar trend. Of 161 scheduled flights, six were cancelled, representing a rate of 3.73%. Kuwait again recorded the highest disruption, with both scheduled services cancelled, while Saudi Arabia saw three cancellations from 12 flights. A single cancellation was also recorded on routes from the United Arab Emirates.

Globally, cancellation rates across key Middle Eastern markets remain elevated but significantly lower than peak levels. Across 4,317 scheduled flights to selected countries, 220 were cancelled, representing a rate of 5.10%. Kuwait continues to experience substantial disruption, with a cancellation rate of 67.61%, while Israel recorded 46.88% and Qatar 24.30%. By contrast, larger markets such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reported relatively low cancellation levels of 3.05% and 5.26% respectively.

Despite the improvement, Cirium warns that disruption is likely to continue in the short term, with cancellations remaining highly dependent on individual airlines and specific country conditions.

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