(EUROPE) — Airlines are bringing back some Middle East flights, but schedules on Europe–Gulf and Europe–Levant routes remain unsettled, and some cuts now run into October. If you are booked on Lufthansa Group or KLM, check your reservation again before heading to the airport.

Reuters reported on July 2, 2026 that the recovery is uneven. Some carriers have restarted selected services, while others are keeping long suspensions in place. The result is a rolling schedule of cancellations, not a clean restart.

KLM updated its Middle East alert on July 1, 2026 with new cancellation dates for Dubai, Riyadh, and Dammam. Earlier updates had already pushed cancellations forward, showing how quickly airline schedules have changed in just a few days.

That kind of churn creates problems beyond a single missed flight. Rebooking options narrow fast when multiple airlines are moving at once, especially on routes through Dubai, Riyadh, and Dammam, where connecting traffic often feeds long-haul trips into Europe.

Lufthansa Group carriers are taking the hardest line. Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines have suspended flights to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Dammam, Riyadh, Erbil, Muscat, and Tehran until October 2026.

KLM’s update gives a clearer short-term picture. The airline said it will not operate flights to Dubai until and including August 23, 2026. Flights to Riyadh and Dammam are canceled until and including August 9, 2026.

That follows an earlier rolling schedule that listed Dubai cancellations through August 2 and Riyadh and Dammam through July 26. The change shows that airline planning is still moving week by week, not month by month.

Mileage and status plans are caught in the middle. If your trip was booked on a paid fare, canceled flights usually mean a refund or a rebooking that preserves the original ticket value. If you were using miles, award space on alternate dates can disappear quickly as airlines shift capacity.

Loyalty members should also watch partner rebooking rules. A canceled Lufthansa Group flight can sometimes be rerouted on another carrier, but the new itinerary may earn miles differently, especially if the replacement flight changes booking class or operating airline. That matters on longer Europe–Gulf trips, where fare buckets can drive earning rates.

The competitive picture is mixed. Carriers that have resumed service can pick up demand from stranded travelers, but the market is not back to normal. With Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and KLM all adjusting at different speeds, the same city pair can have very different availability depending on the day.

Middle East hubs remain especially exposed. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Dammam, Amman, Beirut, Erbil, Muscat, and Tehran sit on key connecting corridors for business travelers, expatriates, and long-haul passengers linking Europe with Asia and the Gulf.

The pattern is partial resumption, not a full return to normal. Some flights are back on the board, while others stay canceled for weeks or months. That creates patchwork schedules that can change again with little notice.

Airlines are still making separate decisions route by route, which means a ticket that looked stable last week can move again before departure. Travelers with summer bookings to the Gulf or the Levant should check flight status, alternate routings, and refund rules now, not on the travel day itself.