Hong Kong Airport suspends all Middle East flights on March 1-2

1、 Core event: Two day flight cancellation covering key destinations in the Middle East

Hong Kong International Airport has officially disclosed that due to the impact of the Iran situation, all direct or connecting flights to the Middle East have been cancelled from March 1st to 2nd, with a focus on covering the three core aviation hubs of Riyadh, Qatar, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. These three major cities are also the main nodes for personnel and cargo transportation between Hong Kong and the Middle East. According to statistics from the Hong Kong Airport Authority, as of 5:00 pm on March 1st, 12 Middle East related flights have been cancelled that day, and 8 flights planned to be cancelled on March 2nd. A total of 20 flights have been cancelled in the past two days, involving passenger and cargo services of multiple airlines.

From the flight status, the official website of Hong Kong International Airport shows that all flights to Riyadh, Doha, and Dubai in the past two days have been marked as "cancelled", and both direct and transit flights have not been operated normally. The wide scope and concentrated time of this cancellation are mainly due to the closure of some airspace in the Middle East. Airlines have had to suspend the operation of related routes for safety reasons, which is also a rare large-scale temporary suspension of Middle Eastern flights at Hong Kong Airport in recent years.

2、 Airline response: Cathay Pacific takes the lead in grounding flights and introduces convenient measures for return and change

As a major airline in Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific immediately responded to the changing situation and officially announced the suspension of related flights to and from the Middle East from March 1st to 2nd, including passenger flights to Dubai and Riyadh, as well as cargo flights to and from Al Maktoum International Airport. At the same time, Cathay Pacific Airways stated that other flights that usually fly over Middle Eastern airspace have also adjusted their routes for detours to maximize the safety of crew members and passengers.

Cathay Pacific Airways has introduced a convenient refund and change policy for affected passengers, specifying that flights with ticket dates on or before February 28, 2026, traveling to or through Dubai, Riyadh, and Doha will be exempt from rebooking and changing destinations, reducing passengers' financial losses. In addition, Hong Kong International Airport and several airlines have set up special counters to handle inquiries, changes, and refunds for affected passengers, making every effort to alleviate the pressure of passenger congestion. It is worth noting that Cathay Pacific will continue to evaluate the situation in the Middle East. The original plan was to suspend Middle Eastern routes until March 31st, and then decide whether to resume operations based on changes in the situation.

3、 Behind the scenes reason: The escalation of the situation in Iran poses a serious threat to airspace security

The complete suspension of Middle Eastern flights at Hong Kong airport this time is mainly due to the airspace safety risks caused by the continuous escalation of the situation in Iran. At the end of February 2026, the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran, leading to multiple countries in the Middle East announcing the closure of their airspace. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel and other countries' airspace were almost completely cleared, with Iran's airspace clearly announced to be closed until at least 8:30 Greenwich Mean Time on March 3, directly affecting the normal operation of global flights to and from the Middle East.

In addition, the three major aviation hubs in the Middle East - Dubai International Airport, Doha International Airport, and Abu Dhabi International Airport - have all been affected to varying degrees. Middle East local airlines such as Qatar Airways and Emirates have also suspended all flights to and from Dubai and Doha, causing a global disruption to the aviation network. Airline officials stated that the closure of airspace not only poses safety risks, but also leads to the dispersion of crew members and difficulties in capacity scheduling, further exacerbating the scale of flight cancellations.