Hours after Dubai’s airports went dark, the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) elevated the response by officially closing the country’s entire airspace at 13:00 local time on 28 February 2026. The blanket restriction, taken ‘as an exceptional precautionary measure,’ applies to all commercial arrivals, departures and over-flights, effectively turning the Emirates into a no-fly zone save for military, medical and emergency movements.
Etihad Airways, headquartered at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, cancelled every departure until at least 14:00 on Sunday, 1 March, and warned that further extensions were likely. Foreign carriers from Qatar Airways to British Airways announced parallel suspensions or long detours circumventing the Gulf, citing the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s conflict-zone bulletin that labels the region “high-risk” for civilian aircraft.
The airspace shutdown magnifies operational challenges already testing airlines since the closure of Russian skies in 2022 and Houthi drone activity over the Red Sea in late 2025. Airlines must now recalculate fuel loads, crew duty times and contingency alternates on routes linking Europe and South-East Asia—many of which rely on time-saving shortcuts across the UAE FIR. Aviation insurers are meanwhile re-pricing war-risk premiums, a cost likely to feed through to ticket prices once services resume.
![UAE Civil Aviation Authority Closes National Airspace; Etihad, Emirates and Global Carriers Issue Sweeping Cancellations]()
Multinational firms with fly-in/fly-out assignees have activated their emergency communication trees, urging employees to postpone non-essential travel and to verify the validity of multiple-entry visas for neighbouring Oman or Saudi Arabia in case rerouting is required. Immigration professionals note that overstays caused by involuntary flight cancellations will generally be excused by the UAE’s Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, provided passengers keep boarding passes and airline confirmation emails as evidence.
For travelers who suddenly need to reroute through other Gulf states or extend their stay in the Emirates, VisaHQ can help streamline the paperwork. Its digital platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) provides up-to-the-minute entry requirements and expedited visa processing for the UAE and neighbouring countries, easing one layer of complexity while flights remain disrupted.
The GCAA says coordination with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and neighbouring states is ongoing and that phased re-opening will depend on security intelligence and missile-defence assessments. Until then, travel managers are advised to monitor NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen) and airline operational feeds rather than rely on third-party flight-tracking apps, which may lag official directives by several hours.
Etihad Airways, headquartered at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, cancelled every departure until at least 14:00 on Sunday, 1 March, and warned that further extensions were likely. Foreign carriers from Qatar Airways to British Airways announced parallel suspensions or long detours circumventing the Gulf, citing the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s conflict-zone bulletin that labels the region “high-risk” for civilian aircraft.
The airspace shutdown magnifies operational challenges already testing airlines since the closure of Russian skies in 2022 and Houthi drone activity over the Red Sea in late 2025. Airlines must now recalculate fuel loads, crew duty times and contingency alternates on routes linking Europe and South-East Asia—many of which rely on time-saving shortcuts across the UAE FIR. Aviation insurers are meanwhile re-pricing war-risk premiums, a cost likely to feed through to ticket prices once services resume.
Multinational firms with fly-in/fly-out assignees have activated their emergency communication trees, urging employees to postpone non-essential travel and to verify the validity of multiple-entry visas for neighbouring Oman or Saudi Arabia in case rerouting is required. Immigration professionals note that overstays caused by involuntary flight cancellations will generally be excused by the UAE’s Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, provided passengers keep boarding passes and airline confirmation emails as evidence.
For travelers who suddenly need to reroute through other Gulf states or extend their stay in the Emirates, VisaHQ can help streamline the paperwork. Its digital platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) provides up-to-the-minute entry requirements and expedited visa processing for the UAE and neighbouring countries, easing one layer of complexity while flights remain disrupted.
The GCAA says coordination with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and neighbouring states is ongoing and that phased re-opening will depend on security intelligence and missile-defence assessments. Until then, travel managers are advised to monitor NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen) and airline operational feeds rather than rely on third-party flight-tracking apps, which may lag official directives by several hours.
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