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Security concerns: Lufthansa cancels many Middle East flights through fall

Posted by (Schwerin) on

"Until at least April 30, no Lufthansa Group flights will operate to destinations in the crisis-stricken region of the Middle East. The airline announced this on Monday in Frankfurt, citing the tense security situation. On most routes, the airline will suspend service for a significantly longer period.

The airline has already canceled its scheduled flights to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Amman (Jordan), Beirut (Lebanon), Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan), Muscat (Oman), Tehran (Iran), as well as Riyadh and Dammam (both in Saudi Arabia). ... These dates apply to the following airlines: Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, Edelweiss, and Lufthansa Cargo.

Flights to the airports in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and Tel Aviv (Israel) are to be suspended for the time being until May 31. As things stand, Lufthansa Cargo’s freight flights and passenger flights operated by its direct-flight subsidiary Eurowings to Israel’s capital will be suspended until April 30—as will Eurowings flights to Beirut and Erbil.

The spokesperson stated that the company is continuously monitoring and assessing the situation in the Middle East and is in close contact with the authorities. Further changes are always possible due to the rapidly evolving situation.

According to the company, passengers affected by the cancellations can rebook to a later travel date free of charge or, alternatively, receive a full refund of the ticket price."

Source: article in German language, translated with DeepL

Posted by
3424 posts

Very rational thing to do given the situation.

Many travelers may have booked their trip months ago before war broke out. No doubt they are disappointed. but safety first.

I think that other travelers would like to visit the countries in question but are taking a wait and see attitude.

But there may be persons who need to travel to the affected countries because of family or business. And probably everything is up in the air.

Everyone, no doubt, is hoping for the best.

By the way, when I took a Baltic Cruise in 2019, I ported in Germany and took an excursion to Schwerin visiting Schwerin Castle. So beautiful.

Posted by
4598 posts

I ask myself what the other large European airlines are doing? Do they put profit over security or do they just assess the security situation differently?

Posted by
2141 posts

“ I ask myself what the other large European airlines are doing? Do they put profit over security or do they just assess the security situation differently?”

They do neither; they don’t put profit over security and they don’t assess the security situation differently. Airlines like KLM, Air France too have cancelled flights to the region.

Posted by
18665 posts

Some Middle Eastern airlines are still operating but probably on a day to day basis.

Posted by
257 posts

Increasing fuel prices and a drop in demand will also likely have influenced the decision.

Posted by
4598 posts

Dutch_traveler, I thought that based on thread context it was clear that I do not mean cancellation of single flights or a destination for a week but avoiding destinations for coming months - same horizon as Lufthansa.

Posted by
2141 posts

KLM and Air France haven’t cancelled a single flight or suspended flights to the region for just a week. KLM for instance has cancelled all flights to Dubai, Dammen and Riyadh until at least May 17, 2026. This doesn’t mean that they will resume flights on May 18, it just means that they won’t fly there until at least May 17.

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