British Airways to stop Middle East rescue flights as demand falls
National airline has been running daily flights from Oman to London Heathrow since start of conflict with Iran
British Airways has announced it will stop running rescue flights from the Middle East because of “reduced demand”, and has extended its suspension of operations in the rest of the region.
The airline has been running daily flights from Muscat in Oman to London’s Heathrow Airport since March 5.
But it said it will “pause” the flights after Thursday’s departure.
BA does not usually serve Muscat, but the capital emerged as a key location for tourists stranded in neighbouring countries because of the conflict.
The Foreign Office has not advised against travel to the area where the airport is located, unlike the advice for airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
Muscat can be reached by road from Dubai and Abu Dhabi with journeys of about 300 miles.
BA said: “We have limited seats remaining on our repatriation flights from Oman (Muscat) to London Heathrow on 11 and 12 March for customers with an existing booking.
“Following these dates, the flights will pause due to reduced demand but will be kept under continuous review.”
Airlines such as Emirates serving major Middle East hubs have been able to ramp up their operations in recent days, reducing the need for people to travel to Muscat.
BA also announced that the suspension of its flights to the rest of the Middle East will continue.
It said: “Due to the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and air space instability, we’ve had to temporarily reduce our flying schedule in the region.
“We’ve cancelled all flights to and from Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv until later this month and to and from Abu Dhabi until later this year.
“We’re keeping the situation under constant review and are in touch with our customers to offer them a range of options.”
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