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  "path": "/news/british-airways-middle-east-flights-cancelled-june-dubai-drone-strike-iran",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-17T00:45:45.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Dubai International Airport (DXB) was shut down",
    "British evacuation ship RFA Lyme Bay sets sail from Gibraltar as it prepares for rescue operation",
    "ALL flights suspended at Dubai Airport as huge fire erupts after Iranian drone attack",
    "Iran threatens to bomb news network and jam satellite signals in 'alarming' attack on free speech",
    "UAE's airspace closed down",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nBritish Airways has suspended its flights to the Middle East until June after a spate of drone attacks and uncertainty over Iran.\n\nBritain's flag carrier has cancelled its flights to to Bahrain, Dubai, Tel Aviv and Jordanian capital Amman until May 31.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nFlights to Doha in Qatar have also been scrapped until April 30, while flights to Abu Dhabi have been cancelled until October.\n\nThe decision was made just hours after Dubai International Airport (DXB) was shut down due to an Iranian drone strike on a fuel storage tank.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\nA huge fire was seen raging at the world's busiest international airport - but no injuries were reported.\n\nFirefighters and emergency crews were called to the scene and all flights were suspended for several hours.\n\nA \"gradual resumption\" of flights from the airport then started six hours after the fire was reported, and four hours after emergency services were able to contain it.\n\nDubai Civil Defence teams said the fire was finally extinguished 15 hours after the initial strike.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nWhile it was unclear how many flights were in the air when the airport suspended operations, Emirates diverted some flights to the smaller Al Maktoum international airport.\n\nOne reporter on board an Emirates flight from Rome to Dubai was diverted and landed in the inland city of Al Ain.\n\nThe airline said it planned to arrange a flight back to Dubai once the airspace had been reopened.\n\nMonday's airport drone strike marked the third incident since war broke out in the region.\n\n### LATEST FROM THE MIDDLE EAST:\n\n\n\n\n  * British evacuation ship RFA Lyme Bay sets sail from Gibraltar as it prepares for rescue operation\n  * ALL flights suspended at Dubai Airport as huge fire erupts after Iranian drone attack\n  * Iran threatens to bomb news network and jam satellite signals in 'alarming' attack on free speech\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAnother fire blazed in Fujairah, the UAE's key oil trade hub, suspending oil loading operations.\n\nThe oil hub sits on the eastern coast of the Emirates, meaning vessels do not need to pass through the Strait of Hormuz to access its \"black gold\".\n\nThe UAE's state oil firm exports crude oil from the location, which is increasingly vital to keep global supplies moving.\n\nAir freight rates have gone up at least 70 per cent on some routes, and the price of jet fuel has spiked to double its initial value since the conflict broke out.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nWhile nobody was injured in Monday's drone strike, a separate attack injured four people last week.\n\nUAE's Ministry of Defence said it intercepted six ballistic missiles and 21 drones on Monday.\n\nAnd in the early hours of Tuesday, it revealed was responding to further missiles and drone strikes from Iran.\n\nThe UAE's airspace closed down in response, just hours after the airport was shut on Monday.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter **",
  "title": "British Airways axes flights to Middle East until June after airport drone strike chaos"
}