Dubai limits foreign carriers

Dubai has told foreign airlines they can operate only one daily round trip into its two airports from April 20 through May 31, according to letters seen by Reuters. (reuters.com) The restriction covers Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport, and Reuters reported it extends limits first imposed after the Iran crisis disrupted regional flying. Dubai Airports told carriers that “additional slots will be allocated if capacity is available.” (reuters.com) Indian airlines had the biggest planned schedules into Dubai for April and May, so they take the largest hit under a one-flight cap. Cirium data cited by Reuters showed Air India and Air India Express had scheduled more than 750 flights, IndiGo 481, and SpiceJet 61. (reuters.com) India is also Dubai International’s biggest country market. Dubai Airports said Dubai International handled 95.2 million passengers in 2025, with India the top destination country market at 11.9 million passengers. (dubaiairports.ae) The cap does not apply the same way to Dubai-based airlines, leaving Emirates and flydubai in a stronger position while foreign rivals cut frequencies. The Federation of Indian Airlines asked New Delhi to press Dubai to lift the curbs and consider reciprocal action if they stay in place, Reuters reported. (reuters.com) At the same time, Emirates is still selling a reduced but broad schedule. Its booking page says the airline is “currently operating a reduced number of flights until further notice,” and Simple Flying reported the carrier said on April 10 that it was flying to more than 100 destinations. (emirates.com) (simpleflying.com) Emirates has also kept adding capacity on routes where it can. Its schedules show multiple daily London flights, and the airline’s media center says it launched a second daily Airbus A380 service to London Gatwick and has continued expanding premium-cabin and Airbus A380 deployment across its network. (emirates.com 1) (emirates.com 2) Australia remains part of that push. Emirates’ schedules show Airbus A380 service on Melbourne flights in the current booking window, and the airline has long used double-daily Airbus A380 operations on the route when demand supports it. (emirates.com 1) (emirates.com 2) Dubai’s airport system is still handling heavy traffic despite the restrictions. Dubai Airports said December 2025 was the busiest month in the hub’s history at 8.7 million passengers, and the foreign-airline cap now shows how that traffic is being managed unevenly during the current regional disruption. (dubaiairports.ae)