Quick summary
A wave of delays and cancellations swept all four UAE hub airports — Dubai International (DXB), Dubai World Central (DWC), Abu Dhabi International (AUH) and Sharjah International (SHJ) — on September 23, 2026, hitting routes to India, Pakistan, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and multiple European destinations simultaneously. The US Treasury designated 36 entities tied to Iran’s aviation sector on the same day, while Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization halted Tehran flights to Baghdad and Muscat from midnight Wednesday.
No official cause statement linking the sanctions to the UAE airport disruptions has been issued. Passengers connecting through any of the four hubs should verify every sector directly with the operating carrier before leaving for the airport.
Four UAE airports logged disruptions at the same time on September 23, with delays stretching into the evening and cancellations cutting across South Asian, Gulf and European routes. The scale — four airports, dozens of affected services, routes spanning three continents — makes this more than a routine operational day.
Travelers holding connections at DXB, DWC, AUH or SHJ should treat published departure times as provisional. The operating carrier’s own flight-status page, not a booking platform, is the authoritative source right now.
The disruption landed on the same day Washington announced fresh sanctions against Iranian aviation-linked entities and Tehran curtailed certain regional flights. Those are parallel developments, not confirmed causes: Dubai Airports’ live departures board carried no airport-wide cause statement, and the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority’s public pages offered no nationwide operational explanation for the simultaneous disruption across all four airports.
What is confirmed: schedules are moving, some services are cancelled outright, and the Gulf transit corridor is under pressure from multiple directions at once.
What the schedule data shows across all four airports
The disruption touched both departures and arrivals. Outbound from Dubai, SpiceJet SG5153 to Kozhikode slipped more than eight hours, from noon to 20:25, while SG5117 to Kochi moved from 15:40 to 23:55. US-Bangla Airlines service BS342D shifted a full ten hours, from 02:20 to 12:20. Cancellations from DXB included SpiceJet services to Kozhikode, Jaipur and Delhi, a Pakistan International Airlines service to Lahore, and a further SpiceJet Delhi operation later in the day.
Two SpiceJet services — SG5153 to Kozhikode and SG5106 to Delhi — appeared on both the delay and cancellation listings. That inconsistency alone is reason to call the airline directly rather than rely on any single status source.
At Dubai World Central, the DWC live board confirmed TBZ6608 to Tehran cancelled and TBZ6607 returning from Tehran cancelled. Inbound to DXB, SpiceJet SG5118 from Kochi was reset from a 03:15 arrival to 11:47; SG5060 from Mumbai moved from 11:00 to 19:25. Delayed arrivals also originated in Moscow, Edinburgh, Riyadh, Islamabad, Baghdad, Los Angeles and Sarajevo, among others. Emirates EK902 from Amman and flydubai FZ816 from Abha were both cancelled on arrival.
Abu Dhabi saw Oman Air cancel both WY636 to Muscat and WY635 returning from Muscat. At Sharjah, Air Arabia cancelled services to Gassim, Kuwait (two frequencies), Bahrain and Doha — five routes in a single day from one carrier at one airport.
| Airport | Flight | Route | Status | Original time | New time / outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DXB | SpiceJet SG5153 | Dubai–Kozhikode | Delayed / also listed cancelled | 12:00 | 20:25 |
| DXB | SpiceJet SG5117 | Dubai–Kochi | Delayed | 15:40 | 23:55 |
| DXB | US-Bangla BS342D | Dubai departure | Delayed | 02:20 | 12:20 |
| DXB | Emirates EK902 | Amman–Dubai | Cancelled (arrival) | — | Cancelled |
| DWC | TBZ6608 / TBZ6607 | Dubai–Tehran / Tehran–Dubai | Both cancelled | — | Cancelled |
| AUH | Oman Air WY636 / WY635 | Abu Dhabi–Muscat / return | Both cancelled | 20:55 | Cancelled |
| SHJ | Air Arabia G9068 / G9124 | Sharjah–Kuwait (×2) | Cancelled | — | Cancelled |
| SHJ | Air Arabia G9040 / G9027 | Sharjah–Doha (×2) | Cancelled | — | Cancelled |
On the sanctions side, the US Treasury’s OFAC release names 36 targets supporting Iran’s aviation sector — including 27 Iranian airlines and aviation-support entities in the UAE. The release specifically designates ECT Aviation Support UAE and Sky Phoenix for connections to Mahan Air, and names Mahran as an official of ECT Aviation Support UAE. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that companies providing services to Iranian airlines could face secondary sanctions exposure. The full designations are published at the US Treasury press release.
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, through spokesman Majid Akhavan, confirmed that flights between Tehran and both Baghdad and Muscat were halted from midnight Wednesday, with authorities weighing a reroute of Baghdad-bound services to Najaf Airport as an interim arrangement.
For travelers planning flights from Europe to the UAE this winter, the capacity picture is uneven. Lufthansa resumes Munich and Frankfurt service from October 25; SWISS returns to Zurich from October 27; Eurowings restores Berlin, Stuttgart and Cologne/Bonn from November 1; and Austrian Airlines returns to Vienna from December 12. Together those four carriers could add up to 36 weekly Dubai–Europe flights across the winter season. British Airways plans to open Dubai bookings from November 4, starting with one daily service before scaling to two daily in summer — though its Abu Dhabi service is not expected before winter 2027–28. Air Canada has cancelled Dubai services until mid-January 2027, and Virgin Atlantic has pushed its Dubai return to October 2027.
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Why hub disruption compounds faster than point-to-point delays
Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are not origin-destination airports in the conventional sense. The majority of their long-haul traffic is connecting — passengers arriving from Europe or South Asia and continuing onward to Asia-Pacific, Africa or the Gulf. That architecture means a single late inbound aircraft can cascade through two or three subsequent rotations before the day is out, and a passenger delayed on the first sector may arrive to find the onward flight already gone.
The risk is sharpest for anyone holding separate tickets. A traveler who booked a budget carrier into DXB and a separate long-haul onward has no automatic protection if the first flight runs late. The operating airline on the disrupted sector is not contractually obligated to rebook a passenger onto a separate ticket’s connection.
The medium-term picture adds a different layer of complexity. Europe–Dubai capacity is rebuilding on a staggered schedule, with different carriers returning at different dates across October, November and December. That uneven timetable means seat availability and fare competition on Europe–Gulf–Asia itineraries will vary considerably by city pair through the winter. Doha, Istanbul, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and London all remain viable alternative connection points for travelers who find Dubai options thin or unreliable on a given date.
Steps to protect your connection through UAE hubs today
Gulf hub connections are high-risk through at least the end of this week — here is the priority order for protecting your trip.
- Check the operating carrier directly, not just your booking platform. Status boards at DXB, DWC, AUH and SHJ are updating throughout the day. The airline’s own app or flight-status page reflects real-time gate and boarding changes that third-party platforms can lag by 30–60 minutes. Flydubai has specifically noted that check-in closes 60 minutes before scheduled departure unless the airline contacts you otherwise by SMS or email.
- Verify every sector, not just the first one. A delay on the inbound leg can cascade to the onward connection. Confirm both flights are operating before you leave for the airport, particularly on Emirates, flydubai, Air Arabia, Etihad, SpiceJet and Air India Express itineraries.
- Ask the airline to protect the full itinerary. If a UAE connection is disrupted and you hold a single booking, the airline is responsible for rerouting you to your final destination. Request this explicitly — do not accept a rebooking that only covers the delayed segment.
- Compare alternate hubs before accepting a new departure. Doha, Istanbul, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and London all carry connecting traffic to South Asia and Asia-Pacific. If same-day options through Dubai are exhausted, an alternate routing may get you there faster than waiting for the next available UAE departure.
- Do not assume sanctions caused your delay. The UAE airport disruptions and the US Treasury sanctions are same-day events, but no official cause statement links them. Treat them as separate issues when speaking to airlines or insurers about rebooking or compensation.
Watch: The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority news and NOTAM pages for any official operational advisory covering the four airports — if a formal cause statement appears, it will change how airlines handle compensation and rebooking claims.
Reporting by
Questions? Answers.
Are the UAE airport delays caused by the US sanctions on Iran?
No official cause statement has been issued linking the September 23 UAE airport disruptions to the US Treasury sanctions. Dubai Airports’ live board carried no airport-wide explanation, and the UAE GCAA’s public pages offered no nationwide operational cause. The sanctions and the disruptions are same-day events, but treating one as the cause of the other is not supported by any source reviewed.
Which European carriers are still suspended from Dubai, and when do they return?
As of September 23, 2026, Air France is suspended through October 13, Singapore Airlines through October 24, KLM through October 24, ITA Airways through October 24, airBaltic through October 24, and Eurowings through October 24. Wizz Air resumes October 25, Lufthansa October 25, SWISS October 27, and Eurowings November 1. British Airways opens bookings from November 4. Air Canada is cancelled until mid-January 2027, and Virgin Atlantic has pushed its Dubai return to October 2027.
What happens if my connecting flight at Dubai is cancelled and I hold separate tickets?
If you hold separate tickets, the airline operating the disrupted first sector has no contractual obligation to rebook you onto a separately ticketed onward flight. You would need to rebook the second ticket independently, at your own cost. Travel insurance with missed-connection cover may apply, depending on your policy terms and the advisory level in effect for the UAE at the time of booking.
Are Tehran–Baghdad and Tehran–Muscat flights still operating?
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization confirmed a halt to flights between Tehran and both Baghdad and Muscat from midnight Wednesday, September 24. Authorities were considering redirecting Baghdad-bound services to Najaf Airport as an interim arrangement. The duration of the suspension had not been officially confirmed as of the time of publication.
