British Airways has cancelled flights to the war-torn regions of the Middle East due to uncertainty.
A BA statement said: ‘Due to the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and airspace instability, we’ve had to temporarily reduce our flying schedule in the region.
‘We’ve cancelled all flights to and from Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv until later this month and to and from Abu Dhabi until later this year. We’re keeping the situation under constant review and are in touch with our customers to offer them a range of options.
‘We have limited seats remaining on our repatriation flights from Oman (Muscat) to London Heathrow on 11 and 12 March for customers with an existing booking.’
The airline has been running daily flights from Muscat in Oman to London’s Heathrow Airport since March 5.
But it said it will ‘pause’ the flights after Thursday’s departure.
Best of Metro Deals
Get exclusive discounts with Metro Deals – save on getaways and spa days. Powered by Wowcher
Bannatyne Spa: Spa day for two with treatments, lunch & prosecco — save up to 57% off.
Mystery Escape: Hotel stay with return flights from as low as £92pp — save on worldwide holiday packages.
Beach Retreat (Lanzarote): 4* Lanzarote beach holiday with flights — save up to 58%.
BA does not usually serve Muscat, but the capital emerged as a key location for tourists stranded in neighbouring countries because of the conflict.
The Foreign Office has not advised against travel to the area where the airport is located, unlike the advice for airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
Muscat can be reached by road from Dubai and Abu Dhabi with journeys of about 300 miles.
BA said: ‘We have limited seats remaining on our repatriation flights from Oman (Muscat) to London Heathrow on 11 and 12 March for customers with an existing booking.
‘Following these dates, the flights will pause due to reduced demand but will be kept under continuous review.’
Airlines such as Emirates serving major Middle East hubs have been able to ramp up their operations in recent days, reducing the need for people to travel to Muscat.
Despite BA’s announcement, some 36 commercial flights from the region to the UK were expected to depart on Tuesday, carrying thousands of Britons.
Around 45,000 British nationals have managed to leave since commercial flights resumed from countries caught up in the crisis.
The Government is also continuing to charter flights, with priority given to vulnerable Britons.
A second chartered flight from Dubai was expected to leave on Tuesday.
The response to the Middle East conflict is being co-ordinated from a crisis centre deep within the Foreign Office.
Dozens of staff are based in the centre, with huge screens showing rolling news from the crisis zone and another display showing aircraft movements around the region.
Foreign Office officials, including teams dealing with both the consular issues affecting Britons in the area and the political and diplomatic crisis, are working around the clock in the crisis centre.
