Brussels Airport confirmed on 2 March that ten services to and from Tel Aviv, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha were scrubbed, extending a weekend wave of cancellations triggered by the widening Iran conflict. Departure boards showed five inbound rotations from the UAE, Qatar and Israel as well as their outbound counterparts marked ‘cancelled’. Brussels Airlines (Lufthansa Group), Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad notified passengers of automatic rebooking or refund options.
Although the airport itself remains open, several Middle-Eastern states have partially closed airspace, forcing carriers to reroute or ground services altogether. Travellers booked later this week report receiving schedule-change e-mails, indicating further disruption is likely. Freight forwarders are also feeling the pinch: high-value pharmaceuticals normally shipped via Doha are being diverted to Liège Cargo or Amsterdam-Schiphol, lengthening door-to-door lead times for Belgian exporters.
![Flights between Brussels and Gulf hubs cancelled for second straight day]()
Should passengers need emergency visa support—whether to obtain transit permission through alternative hubs or to apply for a Belgian stay extension—VisaHQ can streamline the process. Their Brussels portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) provides step-by-step guidance, electronic forms and courier options, allowing both individual travellers and corporate mobility teams to stay compliant amid rapidly changing entry rules.
Travel-management companies (TMCs) advise corporates to avoid same-day connections through Gulf hubs and instead route via Istanbul, Athens or European long-haul gateways until NOTAMs are lifted. Employers should also revisit duty-of-care obligations under Belgium’s Well-Being at Work Act, which requires risk assessments before dispatching staff into volatile environments.
From an immigration standpoint, extended lay-overs could jeopardise Schengen-area stay calculations for non-EU assignees; HR teams should monitor 90/180-day limits closely if staff are forced to remain in Belgium longer than planned.
Although the airport itself remains open, several Middle-Eastern states have partially closed airspace, forcing carriers to reroute or ground services altogether. Travellers booked later this week report receiving schedule-change e-mails, indicating further disruption is likely. Freight forwarders are also feeling the pinch: high-value pharmaceuticals normally shipped via Doha are being diverted to Liège Cargo or Amsterdam-Schiphol, lengthening door-to-door lead times for Belgian exporters.
Should passengers need emergency visa support—whether to obtain transit permission through alternative hubs or to apply for a Belgian stay extension—VisaHQ can streamline the process. Their Brussels portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) provides step-by-step guidance, electronic forms and courier options, allowing both individual travellers and corporate mobility teams to stay compliant amid rapidly changing entry rules.
Travel-management companies (TMCs) advise corporates to avoid same-day connections through Gulf hubs and instead route via Istanbul, Athens or European long-haul gateways until NOTAMs are lifted. Employers should also revisit duty-of-care obligations under Belgium’s Well-Being at Work Act, which requires risk assessments before dispatching staff into volatile environments.
From an immigration standpoint, extended lay-overs could jeopardise Schengen-area stay calculations for non-EU assignees; HR teams should monitor 90/180-day limits closely if staff are forced to remain in Belgium longer than planned.
