As some international airlines have started to gradually resume limited service into Middle Eastern cities like Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv, still others are taking the more cautious route and pushing back initial restart dates given the lack of a ceasefire and consistent flare-ups in different regions.
Dutch flag carrier KLM has pushed back the restart date of many of its key Middle Eastern routes from Amsterdam dozens of times since the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran in February 2026. British Airways recently definitively canceled its route between London Heathrow (LHR) and Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) that it was initially hoping to run daily throughout 2026.
Air Canada cancels its Toronto-Dubai flight until March 2027
While not canceling the route permanently, the latest carrier to push back the restart date of its flight into Dubai International (DXB) is Canadian national airline Air Canada.
In the latest travel update posted on the airline’s website, Air Canada states that “due to the situation in the Middle East, flights to and from Dubai (DXB) will remain cancelled until the end of March 2027.”
Related: Another airline cancels almost all U.S. flights due to low demand
Prior to the February 2026 attack that set off the instability, Air Canada ran a daily flight to Dubai from Toronto Pearson International Airport that it launched in 2023 on a 298-passenger Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner amid a growing increase in travel interest to the city.
While Air Canada had previously also run a seasonal route to Dubai from Vancouver International (YVR), it had been flying only from Toronto at the start of 2026. The further pushback of the route means that the airline will not serve the city or the United Arab Emirates market until March 2027 at the earliest.
Ciel Tower Dubai
Air Canada is not serving the Middle East right now
The restart date that Air Canada had previously set in mid-September was January 2027 for the flight to Dubai and Nov. 30 for the carrier’s route to Tel Aviv from Toronto. The airline named “a thorough review of the security environment in the region” as the guiding factor behind its decision to restart or prolong the suspension of specific routes.
Air Canada had previously also operated a flight to the Qatar capital of Doha (DOH) but suspended it in 2023 for commercial reasons unrelated to the current security situation in the Middle East.
The November restart of the Toronto-Tel Aviv route is currently still listed as taking place as scheduled.
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Without the Dubai or Tel Aviv routes, Air Canada is not currently flying to anywhere in the Middle East for the time being.
American Airlines and United Airlines currently also have the same March 2027 restart date set for their routes to Doha and Dubai, respectively.
Amid the pullback of international airlines, local UAE carriers Emirates and Etihad became the main and most reliable way from travelers to fly into and out of Dubai.
Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Toronto and Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) while Abu Dhabi-based Etihad has a Toronto route from the UAE capital.
Related: British Airways exits entire market, cancels all flights
