Wizz Air has scrapped its planned winter return to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, citing ongoing airspace restrictions that have made the routes commercially unviable.
Wizz Air postpones Middle East return
Wizz Air will not resume its planned flights to Abu Dhabi and Dubai this winter after cancelling all services to and from the two UAE destinations for the season. The airline had originally planned to operate the routes between 25 October and 27 March, following an earlier announcement that it would return to the UAE alongside services to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Amman in Jordan.
The latest decision comes just days after Wizz Air initially announced that some Abu Dhabi routes would be postponed until January following updated safety guidance from Europe’s aviation regulator. The airline has now cancelled the Abu Dhabi and Dubai services for the entire winter season.
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Longer routes make flights too expensive
Wizz Air said the decision was prompted by regional airspace restrictions that were extended on 30 September. The restrictions mean aircraft would have to take significantly longer routes to reach their destinations, increasing both flight times and operating costs.
According to the airline, the resulting costs make operating the routes commercially unviable under current conditions, including with its Airbus A321neo and A321XLR aircraft.
“We regret the disruption to travel plans and will continue to monitor developments, reassessing operations as safety guidance and operating conditions evolve,” Wizz Air said in a statement to The National.
The airline also confirmed that its planned flights to and from Amman are affected by the latest conflict-zone guidance from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which recommends that airlines do not operate within Jordanian airspace.
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Wizz Air had planned a major Middle East comeback
The cancelled UAE services were part of a much bigger planned return to the Middle East. For the winter season, Wizz Air had announced plans for 12 routes and 49 weekly flights connecting nine European cities with destinations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
The planned network would have offered around 470,000 seats across the three countries. Wizz Air had suspended its European-operated Middle East services in late February following the escalation of the regional conflict.
The planned return came after the airline’s low-cost subsidiary Wizz Air Abu Dhabi ceased operations in September 2025. The continuing airspace restrictions have also forced other international airlines to adjust their schedules and routes across the region.
For passengers who had been planning to fly Wizz Air to Abu Dhabi or Dubai this winter, the latest announcement means the airline’s much-anticipated return will have to wait.
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