Which Airlines Are Still Skipping Dubai This Winter
Major carriers like KLM and Lufthansa postpone or cancel Dubai flights through winter 2026/27, impacting luxury hotels relying on long-haul feed.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- KLM cancels Dubai flights entirely for the 2026/27 winter season through March 27.
- Lufthansa Group delays its return date to November 25 after multiple postponements.
- Dubai short-term rental booked nights dropped 36% year over year for November.
- Luxury hotels face capacity shortfalls without European long-haul network feed.
Dubai’s main airport remains bustling with local carriers, but long-haul airlines from outside the Gulf region are largely sitting out the winter season. At least 16 carriers have chosen to delay their return until spring, stripping away the crucial long-haul passenger capacity that Dubai's luxury hotels were banking on for the peak tourism period.
The latest schedule cuts rolled out over the past week. Dutch flag carrier KLM announced on October 26 that it will skip Dubai entirely during the 2026/27 winter season, which runs through March 27. Meanwhile, Germany’s Lufthansa Group stated on October 23 that it would push its resumption date to November 25, marking the latest in a continuous series of delays dating back to March.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Alongside KLM and Lufthansa, major international airlines including Finnair, United Airlines, Air Canada, low-cost carrier Wizz Air, and Virgin Atlantic are keeping their suspensions in place until spring or later. British Airways stands as a notable exception, preparing to resume daily scheduled flights in early November.
The prolonged absence deals a heavy blow to Dubai's hospitality sector. Hotel operators had previously told Skift that they anticipated European carriers returning alongside the late-October winter schedules, a move they hoped would bolster December bookings. However, forward-looking data pointed in the exact opposite direction.
According to AirDNA figures, booked nights at Dubai short-term rentals were down 36% year over year for November as of September 30. December bookings dropped 8% and January fell 6%, while CoStar data showed UAE hotel occupancy tumbling 12.3 points year over year to 67.6% in September.
The decision by multiple European and North American carriers to bypass Dubai underscores lingering caution in long-haul capacity deployment amid broader geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, such as recent airport security incidents in neighboring countries. While local powerhouses like Emirates maintain high flight frequencies, the lack of Western network feed exposes Dubai's high-end tourism ecosystem to vulnerabilities during its crucial winter high season.
Although Dubai International Airport is running close to full capacity on Emirates and flydubai schedules according to Time Out Dubai, the absent carriers fail to deliver the network feed that luxury hotels depend on most to fill their high-end suites during the colder months.
Source: Skift
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