As diplomatic talks between the U.S. and Iran continue to hit roadblocks, a highly volatile security situation in the Middle East makes it difficult for airlines that fly into cities like Dubai and Riyadh to plan future service.
Dutch flag carrier KLM has, since the joint U.S.-Israeli strike that set off the war on the last day of Feb. 2026, pushed back the restart date of many of its key Middle Eastern routes from Amsterdam dozens of times.
While KLM had previously set the resumption of service on its routes to Dubai (DXB), Riyadh (RUH), and Dammam (DMM) until Sept. 6, the latest update pushes that bag once again to Oct. 24. None of these routes from Schiphol Airport (AMS) in Amsterdam have run since March 2026.
KLM once again pushes back restart dates of Dubai, Riyadh, and Dammam flights
“Despite recent reporting about the situation in the Middle East, the current circumstances in the region still bring uncertainties,” KLM says in a statement that has been in place since the three routes were first canceled in March. “To provide clarity and certainty to travelers scheduled to fly to Dubai in the coming weeks, the cancelations have been extended.”
Local airlines such as Emirates and Saudia have been running flights to their cities from different parts of the world but international ones have been reticent to restart service due to both the security risks and costs of starting and then suddenly having to call them off again.
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The KLM routes to Dubai, Riyadh, and Dammam are major connectors of the Middle East to the rest of Europe; their suspension further limits the options for getting in and out of the region during lulls in Iranian attacks.
Given the extended pushbacks to the restart dates, most of the passengers who held a ticket on a route between Amsterdam and the three Middle Eastern cities will have already received the refund.
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What happens if you have a booked KLM ticket to the Middle East
But for anyone holding onto their ticket, KLM’s extraordinary measures policy allows them to either claim a refund to the original method of payment or keep pushing back travel to a future date in the hopes that the flight will one day run.
“KLM will not operate flights to Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam until and including October 24,” the latest update put out on Aug. 5 reads.
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Other airlines in Europe and North America have made similar moves to push back routes to the Middle East. British Airways recently scaled back the restart of its flight between London Heathrow and Dubai from August to Oct. 2026 while American Airlines delayed the restart of two high-profile routes to Doha (DOH) and Tel Aviv (TLV) until 2027.
KLM sister airline Air France has also suspended all service into Dubai from Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris until Aug. 18, citing a “security situation on the ground, which is highly fluid” as the reason.
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