Dutch airline KLM resumes Middle East flights

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• Fuel costs are increasing, so airlines are reducing their prices and cutting back on their outlook.

  The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, which has pushed up jet fuel prices, has shook the aviation industry around the world. Airlines have been forced to increase fares and revise their financial forecasts. In recent weeks, jet fuel prices have increased from $85-$90 per barrel to $150-$200 per barrel. This is a major financial blow to an industry that relies on fuel for up to 25% of its operating costs. Here is an alphabetical list of the ways airlines are responding to this issue: AEGEAN AIRLINES The Greek airline anticipates that the suspension of Middle East flights, as well as the spike in fuel costs, will have a "notable impact" on its results for the first quarter. AIR FRANCE-KLM The airline group announced that it would increase the price of long-haul tickets to offset rising fuel costs. Cabin fares will rise by 57?euros (50?euros) per round trip. AIR NEW ZEALAND On March 10, the airline was among the first to announce a large increase in ticket prices. The airline also halted its earnings projections for the full year due to volatile fuel markets. AKASA AIR Akasa Airlines, based in India, announced that it would be imposing a fuel surcharge on both domestic and international flights ranging from 199 to 1,300 Indian Rupees ($2 - $14). AMERICAN AIRLINES Fuel prices are on the rise, and American Airlines expects to incur $400 million more in expenses for the first quarter. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines announced that it will increase its fuel surcharges by 34% on all routes starting April 1, and to review them every 2 weeks. The CEO of the carrier said that it would maintain its flight capacity despite high fuel costs, but warned that its 10% growth plan for passenger capacity could be altered if demand drops due to high fuel prices. CEBU AIR The Philippines-based carrier said that the sharp increase in fuel prices is a major concern. It will continue to review pricing and network strategies and try to minimize the impact. EASYJET EasyJet CEO Kentonjarvis warned that European consumers can expect to pay higher prices for tickets towards the end of the summer when fuel hedges will end. FRONTIER AÉRIENS Fuel prices have increased dramatically since the airline's forecast. HONG KONG Airlines The airline announced that it would increase fuel surcharges up to 35% starting March 12, with the largest increases on flights between Hong Kong, the Maldives and Bangladesh, and Nepal. Charges would go from HK$284 to HK$384 (49 dollars). British Airways' owner IAG announced on March 10 that it does not intend to raise ticket prices immediately as it has hedged a large amount of fuel in the short to medium term. INDIGO India's largest airline announced that it will introduce fuel charges for domestic and international flights starting March 14. The charge for flights into the Middle East is 900 rupees and for flights to Europe, 2,300 rupees. Sources say that the company also lobbys for the Indian government to reduce fuel taxes. JETBLUE AERWAYS Low cost airline based in the United States has announced that it will increase fees for optional services, such as checked luggage, due to "rising operating expenses." The company announced that baggage prices would increase by $4 or $9. KOREAN AIR A source familiar with the situation said that South Korea's flag carrier would enter emergency mode in April as rising oil costs weigh on its costs. The airline will implement phased responses based on the oil price level and increase company-wide efficiency to offset rising fuel costs. PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS Fuel surcharges are cited as the reason for raising domestic fares up to $20, and international fares up to $100. Scandinavian Airlines announced that it would cancel 1000 flights in April due to high fuel and oil prices. In March, the airline said that it had cancelled "a couple hundred" flights. SAS, which has already raised flight prices, said that even if they tried to absorb rising fuel costs, it would still be a major blow to the aviation sector. SPRING AIRLINES Budget Chinese airline announced that it will increase fuel surcharges for domestic flights starting April 5. Details to be announced in due course. THAI AIRWAYS The Thailand-based airline said that it would increase fares between 10% and 15% in order to combat rising fuel prices. LUFTHANSA, TURKISH AIRLINES SunExpress, the joint venture between Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa and Lufthansa announced that it will impose a temporary 10 euro fuel surcharge per passenger on routes between Turkey, Europe and Middle East from May 1. The fuel surcharge will be applied to all bookings made after April 1 and for departures after May 1. UNITED AIRLINES Scott Kirby, CEO of the U.S. carrier, said that the airline will cut unprofitable flights in the next two quarters to prepare for the oil price remaining above $100 by the end 2027. Andrew Nocella, United's Chief Commercial Officer, said that the company was able to increase fares in response to a rapid rise in jet fuel and oil prices. In an email, the carrier said that it would also be increasing the first and second checked bags fees by $10 to customers travelling in North America, Mexico, Canada, and Latin America. VIETJET A potential fuel shortage has led to the Vietnamese budget airline reducing flight frequencies on certain routes. VIETNAM Airline Vietnam's aviation authority announced that the carrier would cancel 23 flights a week on domestic routes starting in April after it requested government assistance for the removal of an environmental tax. VIRGIN AUSTRALIA Virgin Australia announced that it would be adjusting its fares in order to reflect the rising costs across the aviation sector, which were being exacerbated significantly by the Middle East situation. GREATER BAY Airlines Greater Bay Airlines, based in Hong Kong, said that it would increase fuel surcharges for most routes starting April 1, due to increased fuel prices related to the Iran War. However, charges on routes to mainland China and Japan will remain unchanged. The carrier has announced that the surcharge on flights between Hong Kong, Philippines and other destinations will be more than doubled.

• Spiegel reports that Lufthansa is considering grounding 40 planes because of the Iran war.

  The escalation of the Middle East conflict has led to an employee meeting, reported the Spiegel newspaper on Tuesday. The Handelsblatt had initially reported that the airline group considered 'grounding 20 planes earlier on Tuesday. It also cited a'meeting of employees. Spiegel reported that this was a?part of two crisis management packages. Spiegel reported that in the event of further escalation of the conflict, a second package of possible measures would be to ground 40 aircraft. This would amount to a?loss of capacity of around 5%. Spohr told Spiegel that no decision has been taken yet but admitted the 4% capacity growth planned for 2026 is 'likely not realistic. Lufthansa refused to comment.

• As the Middle East conflict escalates, airlines cancel more flights

  The global air travel industry is still severely affected by the Iran War. Many people are unable to travel to their destinations as planned after major Middle Eastern hubs such as Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi were closed. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES The largest Greek?carrier cancelled flights from Tel Aviv to Beirut, Amman and Erbil until April 22. Baghdad and Erbil were also canceled until May 24. Dubai flights have been canceled until April 19, and Riyadh flights until April 18. AIRBALTIC All flights to Tel Aviv have been cancelled by Latvia's AirBaltic until April 29. All flights to Dubai are cancelled until October 24. AIR CANADA All flights from Canada to Tel Aviv and Dubai have been cancelled until May 2. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights from Tel Aviv to April 10. AIR FRANCE KLM Air France has cancelled Tel Aviv, Beirut and Dubai flights until April 4, and Riyadh and Dubai flights until March 31. They have also cancelled an April 1 departure out of Dubai. KLM has suspended flights until May 17 to Tel Aviv and Riyadh. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has cancelled all flights to Dubai and Riyadh up until May 31. In April, the airline will increase its passenger flights to London and Paris, as well as adding capacity in London. The U.S. airline cancelled all flights between New York and Tel Aviv, and put off the start of Atlanta-Tel Aviv until September 5. The airline said that the launch of its Boston-Tel Aviv flight, scheduled for late October, has been postponed until further notice. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES Customers who were planning to leave Israel by April 4 have had their flights, and return flights as well, cancelled. The airline is operating a small number of flights. EMIRATES The UAE airline announced that it would operate a reduced schedule after a partial opening of the regional airspace. ETIHAD AERWAYS The UAE carrier announced that it operated a limited schedule of commercial flights between Abu Dhabi, and approximately?80 destinations. FINNAIR The Finnish airline has cancelled all flights to Dubai until March 29, and Doha until July 2. It continues to avoid the airspace over Iraq, Iran and Syria. FLYNAS Saudi budget airline Flynas has suspended flights to Dubai and Abu?Dhabi until March 31. British Airways, owned by IAG, has extended the cancellation of flights to Amman and Bahrain until May 31, and Doha until April 30. Flights to Bangkok and Singapore have also been added. Flights to Abu Dhabi are suspended until the end of this year. INDIGO The Indian airline has temporarily suspended its operations in Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain, Dammam as well as Fujairah Ras Al Khaimah Sharjah and Fujairah. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled flights between Tokyo and Doha until April 10, and Doha to Tokyo until April 11. All flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai and back have been cancelled, according to the Polish airline. The airline has also cancelled all flights to Riyadh and Beirut until April 30, as well as to Riyadh from March 31 through April 30. LUFTHANSA GROUP Lufthansa and other airlines, including Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines as well as Edelweiss, have suspended flights from Dubai and Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi until May 31 and to Amman, Beirut Dammam, Riyadh Erbil Muscat and Tehran to October 24. Lufthansa Cargo will be the same except for Tel Aviv, which is suspended until April 30. Eurowings, a low-cost carrier, plans to suspend flights to Tel Aviv through April 30, and to Beirut, Erbil, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman until October 24. MALAYSIA AIRLINES Malaysia Airlines has suspended flights to Doha until April 15 NORWEGIAN AIR It has delayed the launch of Tel Aviv services from April 1, to April 4 respectively. All Dubai flights have been cancelled through April 8. PEGASUS Pegasus Airlines, Turkey, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq and other countries including Amman, Beirut Kuwait, Bahrain Doha Dammam Dubai Abu Dhabi Sharjah until April 13th. Pegasus Airlines, Turkey's national airline, has cancelled its flights to Iran, Iraq and other countries including Amman in Lebanon. Kuwait Airways is also cancelling their flights until April 13. QANTAS Australia's flag-carrier is adding flights to Rome, Paris and London to meet a surge in demand for European routes. Perth-Singapore will be increased from daily service to ten flights per week, and five return flights to Paris per week. QATAR AIRWAYS The airline said that it would only operate a limited number of flights up until the 28th March. SINGAPORE Airlines The carrier has extended its suspension of Singapore-Dubai flights to April 30 and added services on Singapore-London Gatwick, Singapore-Melbourne, from late March until the 24th of October in order to meet increased demand. TURKISH AIRLINES Turkish Airlines has canceled most Middle East flights up until the end March. SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and SunExpress has cancelled flights from Dubai to Bahrain to April 30. WIZZ AIR The low-cost carrier has suspended flights from Europe to Israel and other destinations in the Middle East until mid-September. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed; edited by Matt Scuffham and Mill Nissi Prussak.

• The US-Israeli War on Iran has disrupted global business

  The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran has rattled businesses around the world, driving up energy costs, squeezing the supply of vital raw materials, and raising concerns about the reliability of the trade routes that are critical to the flow from goods such as food to car parts. Here are the major disruptions that have occurred so far: TRAVEL CHAOS Tens of thousands flight cancellations have been reported worldwide. Schedule changes and reroutings are also common. The Middle East has had its airspace closed due to threats from drones and missiles. The global aviation industry is experiencing its worst disruptions since the pandemic. Hubs like Dubai International Airport - the busiest airport in the world for international passengers - are being hit, as well as alternative transit points. Some travellers are boarding private jets to fly out of the Gulf. Others have taken a?long taxi drive across the desert into Saudi Arabia in order to catch a flight home. Air cargo that is time-sensitive has also been affected. From fresh produce to planes, shipments have been delayed due to the conflict. Airline Tickets Global airlines have raised the alarm about soaring jet-fuel prices. They warned of additional costs of hundreds of millions, increased fares, and even cuts to certain routes. EasyJet, a discount airline, expects ticket costs to increase towards the end the summer. Bloomberg News reports that United Airlines may raise fares by up to 20% in response to the oil price surge. Since the beginning of the war, jet fuel prices, which are the second largest expense for airlines after labour, has doubled, increasing the pressure on carriers. Airlines that have hedged against oil price spikes are now announcing fare increases, fuel surcharges, and capacity reductions as they struggle with the unprecedented increase in refinery margins. Indian airlines have suffered another blow due to the Middle East airspace restrictions. Since Pakistan banned Indian carriers last year, the Indian airlines counted the Middle East as a "crucial corridor" for flights to Europe or the U.S. India announced that it would remove the temporary fare caps on domestic tickets it imposed in December. The report cited a government directive. Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline, expects that the Iran War will weaken the dominance on Asian routes of Gulf carriers like Emirates and Qatar Airways. CRUISE As fuel prices rise, cruise operators prepare for rougher seas. Analysts warn that Carnival Corp's 2026 earnings could be hit the hardest as it is the only major U.S. Cruise Line not to hedge its fuel costs. DUBAI IMPACT The conflict has harmed the carefully constructed image of the Middle East as a high-end, safe vacation destination. The tourism industry in the Middle East is valued at $367 billion per year. The report also revealed how global air travel is heavily reliant on a few hubs, led by Dubai. Many stores in Dubai and other Middle Eastern shopping centers were closed or operated with a skeleton crew. DEFENSE INDUSTRY The United States has deployed advanced weapons against Iranian targets including stealth fighters and low-cost, one-way attack robots for the first combat time. During the attack, the Pentagon used artificial intelligence tools from Anthropic including its 'Claude' tools. The Pentagon signed framework agreements on March 25 with Lockheed Martin, Honeywell and BAE Systems in the UK to increase production of defense systems. CRITICAL METALS AND RAW MATERIALS Metals and energy flow are affected by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Aluminium producers have stopped shipments in the Gulf, declared force majeure or rerouted their exports. This has sent prices and premiums soaring. Around 8% of the global supply of aluminium comes from the Gulf region. The helium price has risen after the Iran War disrupted the natural gas processing in Qatar. This exposes the vulnerability of this small but essential market, which supports industries ranging from semiconductor manufacturing and medical imaging. Nickel producers in Indonesia who depend on Middle East sulphur for their production could face output reductions. Due to supply chain issues, chemical firms Celanese Dow and Ecolab raised prices on some products. The Iranian attacks also affected 17% of Qatar’s natural gas export capacity. This poses a threat to supplies in Europe and Asia. Globally, policymakers are forced to rethink how to reduce their long-term dependency on oil and natural gas imports. The increasing?price for gasoline due to the Iran War could encourage consumers to buy EVs or hybrids. Brewers have warned about shortages in India as well. A shortage of gas caused by the war with Iran has driven up the price of glass bottles, and delays in shipping have affected the import of aluminium required by can makers. MEDICINE The war in the Middle East is disrupting the flow of critical medicines into the Gulf, threatening supply lines for cancer therapies and other temperature-sensitive ?drugs and forcing companies to reroute flights and secure overland alternatives into the region. The executives told us that there is currently little sign of shortages but that this could change if conflict continues. FOOD, FAST MUSIC AND LUXURY As reported in earlier March, some shipments of major clothing retailers'?garments were stuck at airports in India and Bangladesh due to the impact of conflict on flights. South Asia is the clothing manufacturing capital of the world. Fast fashion brands from around rely on Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan to supply them with new T-shirts and dresses. Richemont, Zegna and other luxury groups are also under pressure from the crisis. Restaurants and hotels in India have warned of possible disruptions due to a shortage of cooking gas, and households are rushing to purchase electric induction stoves. Some manufacturers in India are also increasing prices for distributors. Samyang Foods, a South Korean company, and other snack, cosmetics and toys makers in Asia have warned of a shortage of packaging material and rising costs due to the high energy prices and shortfall of naphtha. DATA CENTRES AND CHIPS South Korean officials warned that a long-term conflict could disrupt the supply of materials for semiconductor manufacturing? from the Middle East. Helium is one such material, and it's essential to chip production. Drone strikes in the UAE and Bahrain damaged data centres owned by Amazon. This raised questions about technology supply chains, and the pace of Big Tech expansion in the Middle East. Citigroup and Standard Chartered told Dubai staff that they could work from home. This was reported by sources as the banks responded to Iranian threats made against Gulf banking interests linked to the U.S. Citigroup has closed most of its branches and offices across the UAE until further notice. According to a notice sent to customers, HSBC closed all of its branches in Qatar and the UAE until further notice. The Financial Times, citing a reliable source, reported that the U.S. hedge-fund manager Millennium Management was considering relocating employees who don't want to return back to Dubai to Jersey. (Reporting and editing by buros, Josephine Mason, Shinjini Ganuli, Shreya biswas, Tasimzahid, Bernadettebaum)

• As the Middle East conflict escalates, airlines cancel more flights

  The global air travel industry is still severely affected by the Iran War. Many people are still unable fly to their destinations as planned after major Middle Eastern hubs such as Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi were closed. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES The largest airline in Greece has cancelled flights from Tel Aviv to Beirut, Amman and Erbil until April 22. Flights to Baghdad and Erbil will be suspended until May 24. Dubai flights have been cancelled until April 19, and Riyadh flights are on hold until April 18. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, said that all flights to Tel Aviv have been cancelled until April 29. All flights to Dubai are cancelled until October 24, AIR CANADA All flights from Canada to Tel Aviv and Dubai have been cancelled until May 2. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights from Tel Aviv to April 10. AIR FRANCE KLM Air France has cancelled Tel Aviv, Beirut and Dubai flights until April 4, and Riyadh and Dubai flights until March 31. They have also cancelled an April 1 departure out of Dubai. KLM has suspended flights from Riyadh to Dammam, Dubai and Tel Aviv up until April 11 and until May 17. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has canceled all passenger flights from Hong Kong to Dubai and Riyadh up until May 31. In order to meet the increased demand for flights to Europe, Hong Kong Airlines will be operating three additional return flights from Paris and Zurich and adding seats to 13 existing London flights in April. The U.S. carrier cancelled flights between New York and Tel Aviv, and pushed back the start of Atlanta-Tel Aviv until September 5. Boston-Tel Aviv service is being delayed. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES Customers who planned to leave Israel by April 4 have had their flights, and return flights as well, cancelled. The airline operates a limited number flights to key destinations. EMIRATES The UAE airline announced that it would operate a reduced schedule after a partial opening of the regional airspace. ETIHAD AERWAYS The UAE carrier announced that it would operate a limited schedule of commercial flights between Abu Dhabi, and selected destinations. FINNAIR The Finnish airline has cancelled all flights to Dubai until March 29, and Doha until July 2. It continues to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran and Syria. FLYNAS Flynas, a Saudi low-cost airline, has extended the suspension of its flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi Sharjah Doha, Bahrain Kuwait Iraq and Syria, until March 31, 2019. British Airways, owned by IAG, has extended the cancellations to Amman and Bahrain until May 31, and Doha until April 30. Flights to Bangkok and Singapore have also been added. Flights to Abu Dhabi are suspended until the end of this year. INDIGO The Indian airline has temporarily suspended its operations in Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain, Dammam as well as Fujairah Ras Al Khaimah Sharjah, Fujairah. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled flights between Tokyo and Doha until April 10, and Doha to Tokyo until April 11. All flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai and Dubai to Tel Aviv have been cancelled by the Polish airline until May 31. The airline has also cancelled all flights to Riyadh and Beirut between March 31 and April 30. LUFTHANSA GROUP ITA Airways, Edelweiss, ITA Airways, Swiss Airlines, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines have suspended flights from Dubai and Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi until May 31. Flights to Amman, Beirut and Dammam are also on hold until October 24, as well as to Abu Dhabi, Amman and Beirut. Lufthansa Cargo will be the same except for Tel Aviv, which is suspended until April 30. Eurowings, a low-cost airline, plans to suspend flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut through April 30, and to Dubai and Abu Dhabi through October 24. MALAYSIA AIRLINES Malaysia Airlines has suspended all flights from Doha to April 15th. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost carrier has delayed the launch of Tel Aviv services and Beirut flights to June 15th, respectively. They were originally scheduled for April 1st and April 4th. All Dubai flights have been cancelled through April 8. PEGASUS Pegasus Airlines, Turkey, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq Amman, Beirut Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha Dammam Dubai Abu Dhabi Sharjah until April 13th. Pegasus Airlines, a Turkish airline, has cancelled flights to Riyadh until April 1. QATAR AIRWAYS The airline said that it would only operate a limited number of flights up until the 28th March. SINGAPORE Airlines In response to increased demand, the carrier has extended the suspension of its Singapore-Dubai flights through April 30 and added services on the Singapore - London -Gatwick route as well as the Singapore - Melbourne routes from late March up until October 24. TURKISH AIRLINES Turkish Airlines has cancelled the majority of Middle East flights up until March 31. SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and SunExpress has cancelled flights from Dubai to Bahrain to April 30. WIZZ AIR The low-cost carrier has suspended flights from Europe to Israel and other destinations in the Middle East until mid-September. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed; edited by Matt Scuffham and Mill Nissi Prussak.

• Sunexpress will charge a 10 euro surcharge on fuel starting May 1, due to rising costs

  SunExpress is a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and 'Lufthansa. It announced on Wednesday it would start imposing an extra fuel surcharge of $10 per passenger as a result of the rising costs for fuel due to the Iran war. Calculations based on data show that crude oil prices rose from $72.5 per barrel to $120 per barrel during the war and now trade at $100. This represents a 38% rise. Jet fuel prices are often even more expensive than crude oil. SunExpress said that it would introduce a temporary fuel charge of 10 euros per passenger, per flight segment between Turkiye (Turkey) and continental Europe. The statement said that the measures "would apply to all bookings made after April 1, 2026 for departures after May 1, 2026." $1 = 0.8628 Euros (Reporting and Writing by Tuvan?Gumrukcu, Editing by Louise Heavens).

• EU must increase its Aspides Naval Mission to protect key maritime routes.

  Kaja Kallas, the EU's chief of foreign policy, stated that the EU must?increase its Aspides Naval?mission in order to protect?maritime routes from disruptions caused by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Kallas' comments?on X? came after she took part?in a conference call with over 40 countries?organised?by British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper to discuss a joint action...to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. "Thank you @YvetteCooperMP, for convening a call of more than 40 countries to discuss the Strait of Hormuz. This waterway is of global importance. Iran can't charge other countries a bounty for allowing ships to pass. "International law does not recognise schemes that charge to pass," wrote Kallas in X. Today, we looked at a number of?diplomatic and economic measures, as well as security measures, to help restore safe passage. We also worked with the shipping industry. The EU's Aspides mission has already helped 1,700 ships in the Red Sea and must be scaled up. She added, "We cannot afford to lose yet another important trade route." Sudip Kar Gupta reports.

• As the Middle East conflict escalates, airlines cancel more flights

  The global air travel industry is still severely affected by the Iran War. Many people are still unable fly to their destinations as planned after major Middle-Eastern hubs such as Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi were closed. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES Greece's largest airline has?cancelled flight to Riyadh and Tel Aviv until April 30 and Erbil, Baghdad, and Dubai until May 31, AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, has announced that all flights to Tel Aviv are cancelled until May 31, 2019. All flights to Dubai have been cancelled until October 24, according to airBaltic. AIR CANADA Canadian Airlines has canceled all flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai up until September 7. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights from Tel Aviv to May 3rd. AIR FRANCE-KLM Air France has suspended Tel Aviv flights to Beirut, Dubai, and Riyadh until April 19. KLM has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv and Riyadh until May 17. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has cancelled all flights to Dubai, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi until May 31. In April, the airline will increase passenger flights from London, Paris, and Zurich to Europe to meet the increased demand. The U.S. airline has cancelled flights between New York and Tel Aviv, and will delay the start of the Atlanta-Tel Aviv flight until September 5. The launch of the?Boston to Tel Aviv route was delayed until further notice. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES Customers who had planned to leave Israel by April 11th have been denied their flight, as well as the return flight. The airline operates a limited number flights to key destinations. EMIRATES After a partial opening of the regional airspace, Emirates Airlines has announced a reduced schedule. ETIHAD AERWAYS The UAE carrier said that it operates a commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi, and about 80 destinations. FINNAIR The Finnish airline has canceled its Doha flights up to July 2 and continues to avoid the airspaces of Iraq, Iran Syria, and Israel. Dubai flights will only be resumed in October. FLYNAS Saudi Budget Airlines has suspended flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi Sharjah Doha, Bahrain Kuwait Iraq and Syria. British Airways, owned by IAG, has cancelled flights to Amman and Bahrain until May 31, and Doha until April 30. Flights to Bangkok, Singapore, and the Maldives have been added until April. In May, a third daily flight will be operated between London and Mumbai. Flights to Abu Dhabi are suspended until the end of this year. Iberia Express is IAG's low cost airline. All flights between Tel Aviv and Tel Aviv have been cancelled until May 31. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled flights between Tokyo and Doha until April 10, and Doha to Tokyo until April 11. The Polish airline suspended all flights to Tel Aviv from May 31 until now. The airline has also canceled flights to Riyadh and Beirut between March 31 and May 30. The airline will operate its winter route from Dubai to October. LUFTHANSA GROUP Lufthansa and Swiss Airlines have suspended flights from Dubai and Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi until May 31. ITA Airways, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, Edelweiss and ITA Airways have suspended flights between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi until October 24. Lufthansa Cargo will be the same except for Tel Aviv, which is suspended until April 30. Eurowings, a low-cost airline, plans to suspend its flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut through April 30, and to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman until October 24. MALAYSIA AIRLINES Malaysian Airlines has suspended all flights to Doha up until June 14. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost carrier has delayed the launch of Tel Aviv and Beirut flights to June 15 from April 1?and April 4 respectively. The airline has cancelled all Dubai flights until April 8 for the rest of the winter. PEGASUS Pegasus Airlines, Turkey's national airline, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq, Amman Beirut, Kuwait Bahrain Doha Dammam Riyadh Dubai Abu Dhabi Sharjah and Abu Dhabi until May 1. QANTAS Australia's flag-carrier is adding flights to Rome, Paris and London to meet the?increased demand for European routes. The number of flights to Paris will rise from three to five weekly return flights, and the Perth to Singapore service will go from daily to 10 flights a week. A new schedule will be implemented gradually for flights starting in mid-April. It will run through late July. QATAR AIRWAYS The airline has announced that it will gradually increase flights from and to Doha to more than 120 destination by mid-May. SINGAPORE Airlines In response to increased demand, the carrier has added services on the Singapore-London Gatwick route and Singapore-Melbourne route from late March until the 24th of October. TURKISH AIRLINES Turkish Airlines has cancelled the majority of Middle East flights up until March 31. SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and SunExpress has cancelled flights from Dubai to Bahrain to April 30. WIZZ AIR Low-cost carrier has suspended all flights from Europe to Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman until the middle of September. All flights to Medina are suspended permanently. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed. Elviira Louma, Tiago Branao, Agnieszka Olesnska, Bernadette HOG, Boleslaw LaSocki, Romolo Tosiani, and Tiago Brandao. Sumana Nady, Joe Bavier, and Mark Potter edited the book.

• France says that the US NATO is not a threat to Euro-Atlantic Security, but rather serves its Euro-Atlantic security.

  France responded on Wednesday to threats made by Donald Trump to pull out the U.S. from NATO. The military alliance, France said, was designed to ensure security in the Euro-Atlantic region and not to launch offensive operations into the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said he would make a statement to the nation on Wednesday saying that he "absolutely' was considering withdrawing from NATO. This echoed comments he had made in a British Daily Telegraph interview after allies refused to support U.S. Military action against Iran. French President Emmanuel Macron suggested a U.N. Framework for 'any action' in the Strait of Hormuz. This is a vital artery of global oil supply that Iran - has effectively closed. He said international efforts can only happen when hostilities have calmed, insurance companies and shipping firms are consulted, and Iran - consents. "Let's remind you of what NATO is. NATO is a military organization concerned with the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. The alliance is not intended to conduct operations in the Strait of Hormuz as that would be a violation of international law", Junior Army Minister Alice Rufo said at the War & Peace Conference in Paris. Rufo, a close ally and one of Macron's top diplomats said that she understood why the Americans were upset about France refusing to join a coalition in order to unblock immediately the Strait. Paris said she preferred working on a plan that would restore freedom of movement and transit by using "non-offensive" means. Rufo: "I understand this irritation but I'm not speaking for the United States." "I speak for a nation that is a founding NATO member and founding EU member, which has said for 20 years that Europeans should take on a greater share of collective defense in Europe." Three sources said that France had sparked Trump's anger on Tuesday after refusing to allow Israel to use its airspace for the transfer of American weapons used in the war against Iran. (Reporting and writing by John Irish, Dominique Vidalon, Sudip Kar Gupta and Timothy Heritage).

• Israel's halt order threatens Energean’s $1 billion gas extension timeline

  Energean, an oil and gas company, spends about $10 million per month to maintain its shut-in Israeli offshore operations. Mathios Riga said that the suspension of the war was a result of government security decisions. This followed the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, which sparked the Gulf War. It's not revenue lost. He said that it was deferred revenues, and added that the company had over $300 million of liquid assets. Before the shutdown, Energyan produced 15 barrels of oil per day along with gas. After facility upgrades, Rigas stated that production would reach 20,000 bpd when?restarting, helping to offset deferred revenue. He said that the planned launch of Katlan in May, which Energean discovered in 2022, near two other 'projects' it owns, off Israel’s coast, would be delayed if there is no?resolution by then. However, it will have no impact if this war ends earlier. Expected to decrease EGYPT’S arrearages Rigas estimates that Egypt, Israel and Jordan and their neighbours require over 100 billion cubic meters (bcm), of gas per year, due to regional supply constraints and Egyptian domestic gas shortages. Energean has reserved capacity to supply 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Israel to Egypt via a planned pipeline. This is significantly cheaper than LNG imported. Energean has faced payment issues in Egypt, a country that is important to its growth. The outstanding receivables reached a peak of $250 million but Cairo recently paid out $80 million. Rigas said that "in tough times you stick with your partner," urging policymakers to ensure a 'consistent schedule of payments. "Pay, baby, pay. That's all." Rigas stated that Egypt's outstanding debt should drop to $60-$70 million if government honors its?promised payment of $125 million by mid-April. Egypt said that it "intends" to pay all arrears owed by foreign oil companies by June. Energean wants to optimize its Egyptian portfolio by merging three concessions, Abu?Qir Northeast Almreya North Idku, by the end of June. Energean, a company based in the United States, recently acquired a stake (along with Chevron) in an offshore Angolan oilfield. Rigas, while urging geographic diversification, warned against aggressive expansion in the face of high commodity prices. He said that the current market conditions are "not conducive to M&A".

• Starmer: UK needs closer EU partnerships due to volatile world

  Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of Britain, said that the global instability brought about by the 'war in Iran' means Britain should align itself more closely with the European Union for security and economic reasons. This is after Donald Trump had criticised the United States. Starmer, at a press event aimed to ease public concerns over rising energy costs, said that the impact of war could "define us for a lifetime" and be similar to the rise in energy prices during the 1970s. Starmer, who spoke to reporters, said that the EU and Canada should be "more?ambitious" in their economic, security, and partnership efforts. Trump criticised Europe on Tuesday for refusing to join him in his war against Iran. He specifically mentioned Britain and France as the transatlantic relationship deteriorated due to the conflict which has driven up energy prices. The President warned Britain and other countries to "learn how to fight yourself" as the U.S. would "no longer be there to help you". Starmer stated that it was "clear" that the Brexit deal agreed by the previous Conservative administration in 2020 caused "deep harm to our economy". (Reporting and writing by Sarah Young; editing by Catarina demony).

• Bahrain releases revised UN Hormuz draft but does not enforce it

  Bahrain circulated a revised draft U.N. Security Council resolution on protecting commercial ships?in and around Strait of Hormuz. The language was retained, authorising "all necessary measures" but removing a reference to 'binding enforcement. The shipping through this waterway has already been slowed down to a near halt, after Iran attacked vessels during its conflict with Israel and the United States. Bahrain's first draft was seen and supported by other Gulf Arab countries and Washington. It explicitly invoked Chapter VII (of the U.N. Charter) which allows the Security Council authorise measures from sanctions to military power. Diplomats stated that adoption of such a resolution was unlikely as Iran's partners Russia, and China were expected to veto the measure if needed. A Security Council Resolution requires at least 9 votes in favor and no vetoes by its five permanent members, the United States of America, Russia, China and Britain. The revised text, which diplomats say is still being negotiated, does not mention Chapter VII but keeps the language that goes with it. The bill would allow states to use "all necessary means" (either individually or in voluntary coalitions) in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman, as well as the Gulf of Oman, for the purpose of ensuring passage and preventing interference with international navigation. This includes within or near the territorial waters. The draft encourages all states who rely on commercial maritime routes that pass through the Strait of Gibraltar to coordinate their defensive efforts. This includes escorting merchant vessels. Diplomats have said that they hope to vote on the text by Thursday. (Reporting and editing by John Irish)