Days after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East, airspaces across the region have opened, allowing carriers such as Gulf Air and Iraqi Airways to resume limited scheduled operations from its home bases.
Gulf Air Resumes Home Base Ops via Riyadh
Earlier in March 2026, the Bahrain flag carrier resumed operations for passengers from King Fahd International Airport (DMM) instead of its home base, Bahrain International Airport (BAH), between March 15 and 16. These flights operated between Dammam and London, Mumbai and Bangkok.
On April 9, 2026, ADS-B data shows that Gulf Air operated a flight to Riyadh, using a A320-200N registered as A9C-TG. The airline also ferried multiple aircraft back to its home base expecting an operational ramp-up from April 10.
Iraqi Airways Charts a Phased Return
In March 2026, Iraqi Airways remained grounded for the entire month with few repatriation flights in between. Iraqi Airways announced that it would resume scheduled operations starting from April 10, 2026, in a phased manner.
In its initial phase, Iraqi Airways plans to serve domestic destinations such as Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Basrah and international destinations like Istanbul, Cairo and Amman.
While the ceasefire has helped the countries in the Middle East to reopen its airspaces and lift the flight restrictions, the situation has not fully restored. Kuwait and Iran are yet to reopen its airspaces, as being reported.
Do you think Kuwait Airways would restart operations like its Gulf counterparts? Let us know in the comments.
