Singapore Airlines and Scoot have cancelled more flights to Dubai and Jeddah as tensions in the Middle East continue to rise following the United States and Israeli strikes on Iran. The latest cancellations affect passengers travelling between Singapore and key cities in the region over several days.
Flights Affected
Singapore Airlines confirmed that flights SQ494 from Singapore to Dubai and SQ495 from Dubai to Singapore will be cancelled from February 28 to March 7.
Scoot also announced cancellations for its Jeddah services. Flights TR596 from Singapore to Jeddah and TR597 from Jeddah to Singapore will not operate on February 28, March 2, March 3, March 5 and March 7.
These cancellations follow earlier disruptions after multiple Middle Eastern countries closed their airspace. Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates announced at least partial closures of their skies after smoke was seen rising over Tehran and Iran launched retaliatory missile attacks in the region. Iranian missiles reportedly hit capital cities across the Gulf, killing at least one person. Fresh blasts were later heard in Dubai, Doha and Manama.
Airlines Monitoring Situation
Singapore Airlines said it is keeping a close watch on developments. The airline stated, “We will continue to monitor the situation in the Middle East closely and will adjust our flight paths as needed.”
It also advised passengers to stay updated. “We strongly advise customers to update their contact details via the manage booking function on the SIA and Scoot websites, or subscribe to the mobile notification service, to receive flight updates.”
Both Singapore Airlines and Scoot are offering full refunds to customers affected by the cancelled flights.
Widespread Global Flight Disruptions
The impact has gone beyond Singapore carriers. Airlines such as Air France, Air India, Turkish Airlines, Norwegian, Air Algerie, and Lufthansa also announced widespread cancellations.
According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, out of 4,218 flights scheduled to land in Middle Eastern countries on Saturday, 966 were cancelled. When outbound flights were included, cancellations rose to more than 1,800. On Sunday, 716 out of 4,329 scheduled flights to the Middle East were cancelled.
Flight tracking website FlightAware reported that more than 19,000 flights were delayed globally and over 2,600 flights were canceled as of 10:30 a.m.
