British Airways (BA) initially suspended its scheduled flights from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in late February 2026. The service was due to restart in January 2027, however, there are now no BA flights scheduled for next year, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics website.
Middle East operation
On BA’s website, regular flight schedule updates were provided between March 2 and April 9, 2026. An update on its website dated March 10 states:
“Due to the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and airspace instability, we’ve had to temporarily reduce our flying schedule in the region. We’ve cancelled all flights to and from…Abu Dhabi until later this year. We’re keeping the situation under constant review and are in touch with our customers to offer them a range of options.”
BA initially envisaged its LHR-AUH flights would resume in late October 2026 as the winter schedule began. Cirium data analysed by Simple Flying shows the flights were then to be relaunched in January 2027 with six return flights a week using Boeing 787-9 and Boeing 787-10 aircraft. However, these flights now appear to be unlisted and BA has not yet provided an update for customers.
At present, BA’s sole operational Middle East route links LHR to Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Qatar on a daily basis. In May 2026, Qatar Airways resumed its flights between DOH and AUH. Simple Flying estimate that flights to the overall region are down 88% compared to September 2025.
Etihad Airways
UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways (EY) is now the only airline operating non-stop flights between the LHR and AUH. These services currently run four times a day from LHR.
In June 2026, the airline announced a partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) Abu Dhabi to provide complimentary medical travel insurance to all international visitors arriving in Abu Dhabi on Etihad-operated flights.
EY has also recently announced the launch of three new branding initiatives. Passenger travel enhancements have been launched under ‘Etihad Wellbeing’, newly designed A330 cabins feature its ‘Beyond Borders’ branding and its new travel booking platform is called ‘Etihad Escapes’.
Are you surprised that British Airways appears to have cancelled its future flights from London to Abu Dhabi? Let us know in the comments below.
