Hundreds of passengers across the Middle East are facing fresh travel disruption as a new wave of flight cancellations and delays hits key regional hubs. Data compiled from multiple tracking and industry sources on February 10, 2026, indicates that 36 flights have been cancelled and around 1,079 delayed across airports in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and neighbouring states. The disruption is impacting services operated by Flydubai, EgyptAir, Saudia, Royal Jordanian and several other regional and international carriers, with knock-on effects for transit passengers connecting through Dubai, Amman, Cairo, Tel Aviv and Riyadh.
Latest Disruption Across the Middle East’s Busiest Hubs
The latest figures underscore how fragile flight schedules in the region remain, even as airlines attempt to normalise operations after several weeks of turbulence triggered by regional security tensions and airspace restrictions. On February 10, airports in the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and beyond reported more than one thousand delays in a single operational day, a level consistent with the heavy disruption patterns observed in early February. While earlier in the month disruptions were concentrated around Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Cairo and Istanbul, the most recent wave more clearly spans a corridor from the Gulf to the Eastern Mediterranean, with Tel Aviv and Amman now more deeply affected.
Dubai International, one of the world’s busiest hubs and a critical connector between Europe, Asia and Africa, continues to see elevated levels of disruption. Recent data shows hundreds of delayed departures and arrivals per day in Dubai alone, and the airport has repeatedly ranked as one of the most affected in the region through late January and early February. Cairo International has reported similar strain, with EgyptAir and regional partners forced to operate heavily adjusted schedules that ripple outward to African, European and Gulf destinations.
In Jordan, operations at Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport have been under special constraints for several weeks, with some European carriers limiting their services to daylight hours due to security risk assessments. This has narrowed scheduling windows and increased congestion during the daytime peaks. At the same time, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport has experienced a rotating pattern of cancellations and route suspensions by Western carriers, leading regional airlines such as Flydubai, Saudia and Royal Jordanian to shoulder more of the traffic and absorb displaced passengers wherever possible.
Airlines Under Pressure: Flydubai, EgyptAir, Saudia and Royal Jordanian
The new wave of 36 cancellations and more than a thousand delays is distributed among a broad mix of airlines, but regional flag carriers and low-cost operators are bearing the brunt. Flydubai, which serves an expansive short and medium-haul network out of Dubai, has been repeatedly affected by regional airspace restrictions and schedule reconfigurations. In previous advisories, the airline has temporarily suspended or altered services to high-risk areas while maintaining daytime operations to markets such as Jordan and Lebanon where feasible. That combination of selective suspension and compressed flying windows has left little flexibility when further weather, congestion or operational issues arise.
EgyptAir has faced similar pressures in Cairo, where already busy departure banks have collided with rerouted traffic and crew scheduling challenges. The national carrier’s network extends deeply into Africa and Europe, and any delays in Cairo can cascade through onward connections for hours. Recent disruption tallies have frequently placed EgyptAir among the top carriers by volume of delayed flights in the region, and the latest figures from February 10 appear to continue that trend.
Saudi Arabia’s Saudia and low-cost competitors such as Flynas and flyadeal are also navigating an unsettled operating environment. Riyadh and Jeddah regularly feature among the most disrupted airports on days when regional tensions flare or airspace advisories change. Saudia has already recorded days with double-digit cancellations and hundreds of delays at key Saudi gateways this month, with associated knock-on effects at partner airports including Dubai, Doha and Cairo. The current spike in delays further complicates recovery efforts, particularly for high-density religious and labour traffic routes.
Royal Jordanian, based in Amman, occupies a pivotal position linking the Levant to the Gulf and Europe. European safety guidance that restricts some operations into Amman and Tel Aviv to daylight hours has forced the airline into a tighter scheduling pattern. When delays occur, there is less room to re-time flights later in the evening, pushing more services into cancellation risk territory. The mix of security-driven constraints and operational bottlenecks means that even relatively minor technical or weather issues can translate quickly into larger waves of disruption.
Security Tensions, Airspace Closures and Weather: The Drivers Behind the Chaos
The current round of cancellations and delays cannot be attributed to a single cause. Since mid-January, a combination of regional security tensions, changing government advisories, temporary airspace closures and episodes of severe weather have all weighed on airline operations across the Middle East. In particular, restrictions around Iranian and Iraqi airspace have forced many carriers to reroute flights, adding 30 to 90 minutes to some journeys and compressing airport scheduling patterns. For hub airports like Dubai and Riyadh, even modest increases in flight times can push arrivals into already crowded time bands, triggering further delays.
Several Western airlines have, at times, suspended or severely curtailed services to Tel Aviv, Dubai, Riyadh and other destinations, citing risk assessments and operational feasibility. While some of those routes have gradually resumed, they often operate with modified schedules, reduced frequencies or daylight-only limitations. When combined with weeks of rolling disruption, that patchwork of adjustments has left airlines with little slack in their networks to absorb fresh shocks, such as the 36 new cancellations and more than 1,000 delays reported across the region in the latest data.
Weather has also played a role. Recent storms and poor visibility events in parts of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey have led to runway closures, diversions and grounded aircraft. On some days, carriers such as Saudia, Royal Jordanian and Pegasus Airlines have been forced to terminate flights or hold departures on the ground while thunderstorms and strong winds pass. Even after the immediate weather front moves on, backlogs of waiting aircraft and out-of-position crews can linger for many hours, stretching into the following operational day.
Compounding these factors are ongoing operational adjustments by Gulf carriers and low-cost airlines, including additional fuel stops on longer routes and revised routings to avoid sensitive regions. Each of these measures improves safety margins but increases the complexity of daily operations. When disruption hits simultaneously across several hubs, the result is the kind of multi-country impact currently visible from the UAE and Saudi Arabia to Jordan, Egypt and Israel.
Impact on Passengers in Dubai, Amman, Cairo, Tel Aviv and Riyadh
For passengers on the ground, the statistics of 36 cancellations and 1,079 delays translate into long queues, missed connections and uncertain onward travel plans. At Dubai International, travellers have repeatedly reported extended waits at check-in and transfer desks as airline staff work to rebook those whose flights have been cancelled or heavily delayed. With many seats already sold out on alternative departures, re-accommodation often means accepting overnight stays or reroutings via less direct paths, such as through secondary Gulf or European hubs.
In Cairo, the impact has been particularly acute for travellers bound for Africa and Europe on tight connections. Delays to feeder flights into EgyptAir’s main banks of onward departures can cause entire itineraries to unravel, leaving passengers stranded in transit areas while ground teams negotiate with multiple carriers and alliances for solutions. For budget-conscious travellers and labour passengers, unexpected hotel nights and meal costs can strain already tight budgets, especially when compensation rules are limited by the classification of the disruption as an extraordinary circumstance.
In Amman and Tel Aviv, the shift to more daytime-only operations in some cases has concentrated travel demand into narrower windows. This can turn routine delays into missed opportunities, as there may be no later same-day flight once a morning or early afternoon departure slips beyond safe or authorised operating hours. At Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, families and pilgrims have faced crowded terminals and last-minute gate changes, particularly on routes linking the kingdom with nearby Gulf states, North Africa and South Asia.
Transit passengers have been hit hardest. Many itineraries through the Middle East rely on tight connections of 60 to 90 minutes in Dubai, Doha, Riyadh or Jeddah. On days when disruptions are severe, connection windows evaporate, forcing travellers to queue for rebooking rather than boarding their onward flights. With the latest disruption adding another thousand-plus delays into already weakened schedules, airlines are once again struggling to preserve complex multi-sector journeys that span three or more continents.
How Airlines Are Responding and What Recovery May Look Like
Airlines across the region are taking a range of measures to manage the disruption and gradually restore stability. Network planners and operations control teams have been trimming non-essential frequencies, adding buffer times between rotations and prioritising core trunk routes where demand is strongest and connectivity most critical. Some carriers are deploying widebody aircraft on typically narrowbody routes during peak disruption periods to consolidate passengers from multiple cancelled flights onto a single departure.
Operationally, carriers such as Emirates, Flydubai, Saudia, EgyptAir and Royal Jordanian are working closely with air navigation service providers to secure more efficient routings where possible, while still complying with all safety advisories. When airspace access is restricted, airlines may request optimised altitudes and speeds, or stagger departures more aggressively to reduce holding patterns near congested hubs. These behind-the-scenes adjustments are rarely visible to passengers, but they can shave precious minutes off flight times and create room for delayed aircraft to slot into busy arrival banks.
Ground services have stepped up as well. Many airports in the Gulf and Levant have activated contingency staffing plans, bringing in additional agents for check-in, security and immigration control. Airport authorities have also adjusted gate allocations to cluster delayed flights by airline or route, enabling more efficient handling of rebooked passengers and baggage transfers. In some cases, temporary seating areas and rest zones have been opened near crowded transfer desks to alleviate pressure on main departure halls.
Despite these efforts, full recovery is unlikely to be immediate. Industry observers suggest that as long as regional security advisories and airspace restrictions remain in place, day-to-day operations will continue to face elevated disruption risk. Even if the volume of delays gradually declines, residual scheduling imbalances and crew positioning challenges may result in occasional spikes of cancellations and prolonged knock-on effects, particularly at peak travel times.
What Travellers Should Do If Flying Through the Region
For travellers planning itineraries through Dubai, Amman, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Riyadh or other Middle Eastern hubs in the coming days, preparation and flexibility are essential. Experts consistently advise passengers to monitor their flight status closely in the 24 to 48 hours before departure, using both airline apps and airport information channels. Because schedules are subject to late adjustments, early awareness of delays or re-timings can provide a crucial window to rebook onto more reliable connections or adjust ground arrangements.
Passengers are also encouraged to allow longer connection times when booking itineraries that pass through affected hubs. While a one-hour transfer may be technically legal on some tickets, the likelihood of missed connections increases significantly in periods of systemic delay. Opting for 2.5 to 3 hours between flights can provide a vital buffer if the first leg departs late or is forced to take a longer rerouted path around restricted airspace.
For those already at the airport when disruption hits, knowing one’s rights under applicable air passenger protection regimes can help in negotiating assistance. In some jurisdictions, airlines are obliged to provide meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation when delays stretch into many hours or overnight. Even when extraordinary circumstances limit compensation, carriers will often issue meal vouchers and support basic welfare needs as they work through rebooking queues. Keeping boarding passes, receipts and written confirmations of delay or cancellation can be useful later if travellers choose to seek reimbursement or file claims.
Given continued uncertainty, many travellers may wish to consider more flexible ticket types or travel insurance products that explicitly cover disruption due to airspace closures, security incidents or weather-related operational changes. While such coverage will not prevent delays, it can ease the financial impact of unexpected hotel stays, missed connections and alternative routing costs, especially on complex multi-leg journeys through the region.
Outlook: A Region Adapting to a New Operational Normal
The tally of 36 cancellations and 1,079 delays across key Middle Eastern gateways on February 10 is the latest sign that the region’s aviation system is adapting to a more volatile operating environment. Airlines such as Flydubai, EgyptAir, Saudia and Royal Jordanian are redesigning schedules, investing in more agile operations control and deepening coordination with airport partners to manage recurrent waves of disruption. At the same time, passengers are learning to factor in greater uncertainty when planning trips through some of the world’s busiest transit hubs.
A gradual easing of security tensions and the restoration of more direct airspace corridors would offer the most effective route back to stability. In the meantime, the pattern is likely to be one of intermittent spikes in disruption rather than constant crisis. On some days, operations will run close to normal, while on others, such as the current episode, a combination of weather, airspace constraints and knock-on delays will push the system back into stress.
For now, the Middle East remains both a vital bridge between continents and a region where aviation is operating under heightened constraints. Travellers passing through Dubai, Amman, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Riyadh and other key hubs should expect a more cautious, occasionally uneven flight experience in the weeks ahead, even as airlines and airports work to keep people moving. With careful planning, realistic connection times and close attention to evolving advisories, most journeys will still reach their destination, albeit sometimes later than originally scheduled.
As the situation develops, regional and international carriers will continue to update schedules and advisories, and travellers are urged to remain alert to changes that could affect their plans. The latest wave of cancellations and delays is a reminder that in today’s Middle East airspace, resilience and flexibility are as important as any boarding pass.