Around ten flights between Brussels Airport and the Middle East have been cancelled on Monday, mirroring the disruption seen over the weekend following the US and Israeli strike on Iran.
Airport departure boards showed five inbound flights from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Israel cancelled, with corresponding outbound services also scrapped. Several flights scheduled for Tuesday have already been called off.
Routes to and from Tel Aviv, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha are affected. Airlines, including Brussels Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, are contacting affected passengers.
According to Eurocontrol, Israeli airports in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Ramon will remain closed until at least Saturday midday due to ongoing tensions. Brussels Airlines does not expect to resume flights to and from Tel Aviv before 7 March.
Emirates has suspended all services to and from Dubai until at least Tuesday 12:00 Belgian time, citing the closure of UAE airspace. Etihad flights to and from Abu Dhabi are suspended until at least 11:00 Belgian time on Tuesday.
Qatar Airways said operations would resume once Qatari airspace is declared safe, with an update expected Tuesday at 07:00 Belgian time.
Dubai's two main airports, DXB and Al Maktoum, have been closed since Saturday until further notice.
More than 5,000 Belgians are currently in the UAE, according to the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, which has received hundreds of calls to its 24/7 emergency line since Saturday, largely linked to flight cancellations.
Travellers are being referred to airlines and travel agencies.
Flight tracking service Flightradar24 reported at least 2,000 cancellations on Monday across seven Persian Gulf airports. On Sunday, more than 3,400 flights were cancelled.
