British Airways suspends 6 Middle East routes from Heathrow

Six British Airways routes from London Heathrow to the Middle East remain suspended, according to Simple Flying. The outlet says it used OAG schedule data to build the carrier's current timetable from Heathrow, the only UK airport British Airways now serves in the Middle East.

The suspensions follow a wider aviation pullback tied to the war in Iran. Simple Flying notes that Virgin Atlantic recently ended flights to Dubai and Riyadh, while British Airways had already stopped serving Kuwait and Jeddah.

The suspended routes

Simple Flying lists the six routes with their last departure and planned return, based on what is known as of Oct. 6 and subject to change:

• Abu Dhabi: last served March 2, 2026; return expected in winter 2027/2028.
• Amman: last served Feb. 27, 2026; return planned Nov. 4, 2026, with four weekly A320neo flights, down from a daily operation.
• Bahrain: last served Feb. 26, 2026; return planned March 28, 2027, daily 787-9.
• Dubai: last served Feb. 27, 2026; return planned Nov. 3, 2026, daily 787-10 at first, then two daily 777-200ERs from March 28, 2027. The A380 is no longer scheduled.
• Riyadh: last served March 18, 2026; return planned Nov. 3, 2026, daily 787-10 with some 787-8 and 787-9 use. No second daily service is currently planned.
• Tel Aviv: last served May 3, 2026; return planned Oct. 25, 2026, daily A321neo, half the frequency originally planned.

Most of those return dates align with the switch to IATA winter schedules, Simple Flying says. With less than a month before some flights are due back, the outlet expects them all to resume.

While those routes are paused, British Airways is still flying to Doha. The nonstop from Heathrow started in October 2016 with the 777-200ER. Simple Flying reports the route is now daily on the 777-200ER and will increase to two daily services on March 28, 2027. The scheduling is built around the airline's joint venture with Qatar Airways, so arrivals and departures at Doha line up with Qatar Airways' peak connectivity.

From Nov. 4, British Airways is due to serve five Middle East destinations from Heathrow: Amman, Dubai, Riyadh, Tel Aviv and Doha. Simple Flying puts the planned schedule at 32 weekly departures, four to five a day. That is down 59 percent from last November, when the carrier had 78 weekly departures across eight routes.

• aviation
• British Airways
• Heathrow
• Middle East
• Route suspensions