British Airways and easyJet have cancelled flights between the UK and Cyprus today amid growing tensions in the Middle East.
BA has cancelled today’s flights to Larnaca from Heathrow and Gatwick, while easyJet has cancelled three return flights between the UK to Paphos and Larnaca.
The cancellations follow a strike on the RAF’s Cyprus base in Akrotiri overnight, in a suspected drone attack by Iran in retaliation to US-Israeli strikes that began on Friday evening.
Suppliers have urged agents to be patient following the grounding of flights in the Middle East following the joint US-Israeli attacks and retaliative strikes by Iran that have targeted several countries.
Four people were injured when an Iranian missile struck the Fairmont The Palm hotel in Dubai, setting the building alight, on Saturday. Another four were injured in a missile attack at Dubai International Airport.
One person was killed and seven others were injured in a drone strike at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi.
And Visit Bahrain Director, Business Development Ian Scott said the Crowne Plaza in Bahrain had also been damaged in the air strikes.
“The roads are very quiet, and we are warned of pending attacks with security alerts on the mobile phone,” added Ian.
The FCDO is advising against all but essential travel to the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. On Friday, the FCDO updated its advice to all but essential to the whole of Israel and Palestine.
The FCDO has today warned of a ‘heightened risk of regional tension’ in Cyprus, adding: “Escalation could lead to travel disruption.” This follows confirmation of the attack on the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus.
EasyJet said: “Due to the events overnight affecting the RAF base in Akrotiri, as a precaution, three return flights between Paphos and Larnaca and the UK today are no longer operating.
“Flights from 3 March are currently operating as planned but we would advise customers due to travel to and from Cyprus over the coming days to check our flight tracker for the latest information. For easyJet holidays customers with impacted package holidays, we will be in direct contact.
“We are doing all we can to minimise the impact for our customers and are providing options for rebooking including on other airlines or a refund and are also providing hotel accommodation and meals for those who require them.
“The safety of our customers and crew is our highest priority and we continue to closely monitor the security situation in the region. We’d like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
BA said customers who were due to travel to Larnaca today can rebook for free.
Advantage Travel Partnership CEO Julia Lo Bue-Said said: “Flights to Cyprus are the most recent to be impacted with airline cancellations as FCDO advice that heightened tensions could impact travel in the region.
“However, it is important to note that this is likely a precaution as the incident in Cyprus was very localised and that the FCDO has not advised against travel to Cyprus, which remains “Green” for visitors following sensible precautions. ”
Meanwhile, airports in the Middle East, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha in Qatar, have suspended services and agents have been left waiting for operators to update the situation.
TUI said it is making plans to bring customers home from the UAE and Qatar ‘as soon as it is safe to do so’.
It said customers due to travel up to and including 8 March will be contacted ahead of their departure date, adding that it was working through bookings in date order.
Gold Medal would only say: “Our immediate focus is on supporting all of our affected customers.” Etihad Holidays said that as a government entity it was unable to comment.
Travelpack said it has about 185 impacted bookings in total, up to 8 March. It said: “We are taking a highly systematic approach, working our way chronologically through each booking to ensure everyone is handled efficiently.
“Our team is making excellent progress; by the end of today, we aim to have completely processed and resolved all affected bookings up to and including 3 March. We will then immediately begin addressing bookings for the 4th and 5th, which we expect to have completed by close of business tomorrow.”
It added: “Our primary advice to agents is to remain calm and to reassure their clients. We are receiving very positive feedback from our customers currently on the ground in the Middle East –they report feeling completely safe, and the general consensus is that local authorities are managing the situation exceptionally well. Furthermore, our hotel partners in the region have been incredibly supportive and accommodating.”
Emirates has suspended all flights to and from Dubai until 3pm local time today. Etihad Airways has suspended flights until tomorrow afternoon (3 March). Qatar Airways flights to and from Doha are suspended.
BA has cancelled flights to Amman, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv up to and including 3 March.
Virgin Atlantic has cancelled its Dubai-Heathrow flight today, as well as this afternoon’s Heathrow-Dubai service and its return flight on 3 March. Yesterday’s Heathrow-Riyadh flight and today’s return service have also been cancelled.
See also: ‘It’s the not knowing that is most worrying’, says UK travel pro stranded in Dubai
