Emirates told families travelling during the summer rush to arrive at the airport at least three hours before departure, as flight disruption continued across the Gulf. The airline also asked passengers to clear security with 90 minutes to spare and to be at the gate one hour before departure.
Dubai Airports expected more than 200,000 passengers a day between 2 and 12 July, a period that puts pressure on check-in desks, security lanes and boarding gates at Dubai International Airport. Travellers in the region are being pushed into longer airport lead times while airlines keep reduced and limited schedules in place.
Dubai Airports and restricted schedules
All airlines with flights into airports with restricted airspace were operating with reduced and limited schedules. Those airports included Dubai International Airport, Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport, Bahrain International Airport, Doha's Hamad International Airport, Kuwait International Airport, Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport and Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion. For passengers, that means the day now starts earlier than usual and connections leave less room for delay at every step before boarding.
The operational strain comes after the UAE sent residents the first safety alert in more than two months on Sunday. On the same day, three people, including a child, were injured in Qatar after an Iranian strike was intercepted, Jordan confirmed three missiles landed in its territory, and Oman said several sites in Musandam were targeted by Iranian drones.
Donald Trump and the ceasefire
Last week, Donald Trump told reporters in Turkey ahead of the Nato summit that "the ceasefire was “over”". That statement sits alongside the reality that negotiators on both sides could still continue talking, while Qatar and Pakistan were ramping up diplomatic efforts and the travel picture across the Gulf remained unsettled.
The practical question for travellers is narrower: Emirates has already set the airport timetable for families, and the airline has not said when normal schedules will return. Passengers using flights into airports with restricted airspace still have to build in the extra time, because the reduced and limited schedules remain the operating rule on the ground.
