Emirates, FlyDubai, Air Arabia, Etihad and More Cancel Over 20 Flights Across UAE Airports — 26 Scheduled Departures Scrapped, Disrupting Routes to Nairobi, Cairo, Istanbul, Amman, Islamabad, Mumbai, Dammam, Kathmandu, Salalah, Addis Ababa and Male | Flight Cancellations & Aviation Updates

Wide‑scale UAE cancellations ripple through Africa, South Asia and the Gulf — exact flights and times retained for travellers and industry watchers

Intro A coordinated spate of cancellations struck major United Arab Emirates hubs on April 16, 2026, registering a total of 26 abandoned departures across Dubai International, Abu Dhabi International, Sharjah International and Al Maktoum International. The affected services cut links to Nairobi, Amman, Kabul, Bahrain, Addis Ababa, Islamabad, Cairo, Mumbai, Dammam (King Fahd), Kathmandu, Salalah, Erbil, Baghdad, Istanbul, Queen Alia (Amman), and Male — a distribution that underlines the breadth of the disruption across African, Middle Eastern and South Asian networks.

Expanded overview Numerically, 26 cancellations may not appear catastrophic, but in dense airline schedules they translate into a large human and logistical cost: missed connections, stretched customer‑support systems and sudden capacity gaps. The affected aircraft were predominantly narrow‑body types (B738/B737 MAX, A320 family, A21N/A321 variants), used across both short‑ and medium‑haul rotations. Carriers and airports scrambled to re‑accommodate passengers while operations teams sought to stabilise days of tight turnarounds and crew rosters. Below we parse the event by airport, list the precise services involved, present the full unchanged table of cancellations, and then examine passenger impacts and likely operational drivers in measured terms.

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Dubai International Airport (OMDB)

Dubai saw cancellations spanning Africa, the Levant and South Asia, with Boeing 737 variants and 737 MAX types prominent among the affected equipment. Routes to Nairobi, Amman, Kabul, Bahrain and Addis Ababa were among those disrupted, affecting both leisure and transit travellers.

Key affected services out of Dubai included:

• KQA305 to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi
• FDB147 to Queen Alia International Airport, Amman
• FDB311 to Kabul International Airport
• FDB25 to Bahrain International Airport
• FDB605 to Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa

Ground teams reported a spike in rebooking and customer assistance demands as passengers evaluated options via other Gulf hubs or later departures.

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Abu Dhabi International Airport (OMAA)

Abu Dhabi recorded repeated cancellations on several high‑frequency corridors — notably to Cairo and Islamabad — with multiple instances of the same flight number cancelled across different days. The list also included Bahrain and Mumbai services.

Notable affected Abu Dhabi services comprised:

• ABQ231 to Islamabad International Airport (cancelled twice)
• MSR1915 to Cairo International Airport (cancelled three times)
• GFA547 and GFA545 to Bahrain International Airport
• IGO1402 to Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai

Repeated cancellations on these lines intensified pressure on re‑routing and customer care teams.

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Sharjah International Airport (OMSJ)

Sharjah experienced the heaviest concentration of cancelled services in this wave, affecting multiple short‑ and medium‑haul sectors across the Gulf and South Asia. Flights to Dammam, Kathmandu, Salalah, Erbil, Baghdad and Istanbul were impacted, some on consecutive days, creating a sustained strain on the schedule.

Representative Sharjah cancellations included multiple instances of ABY163 (Dammam) and other flights to Kathmandu, Erbil, Baghdad, Salalah and Istanbul.

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Al Maktoum International Airport (OMDW)

Al Maktoum reported fewer cancellations but with notable leisure and regional sectors affected, including services to Amman and Male.

Affected Al Maktoum services included:

• RJA82 to Queen Alia International Airport, Amman
• BYD91 to Male International Airport

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Flight list (full table — unchanged)

Airport Flight ID Aircraft Destination Departure Dubai KQA305 B738 Nairobi (NBO / HKJK) Fri 06:45AM +04 Dubai FDB147 B38M Amman (AMM / OJAI) Thu 07:00AM +04 Dubai FDB311 B38M Kabul (KBL / OAKB) Thu 04:05AM +04 Dubai FDB25 B38M Bahrain (BAH / OBBI) Wed 08:45PM +04 Dubai FDB605 B38M Addis Ababa (ADD / HAAB) Wed 01:20AM +04 Abu Dhabi ABQ231 A21N Islamabad (ISB / OPIS) Tue 03:15AM +04 Abu Dhabi ABQ231 A21N Islamabad (ISB / OPIS) Fri 03:15AM +04 Abu Dhabi MSR1915 B738 Cairo (HECA / CAI) Wed 04:30PM +04 Abu Dhabi MSR1915 B738 Cairo (HECA / CAI) Thu 04:30PM +04 Abu Dhabi MSR1915 B738 Cairo (HECA / CAI) Fri 04:30PM +04 Abu Dhabi GFA547 A20N Bahrain (OBBI) Wed 11:50PM +04 Abu Dhabi IGO1402 A321 Mumbai (VABB / BOM) Wed 09:55PM +04 Abu Dhabi GFA545 A320 Bahrain (OBBI) Wed 07:20PM +04 Sharjah ABY163 A320 Dammam (OEDF) Fri 08:10AM +04 Sharjah ABY532 A320 Kathmandu (VNKT) Fri 08:00AM +04 Sharjah ABY160 A320 Dammam (OEDF) Fri 02:15AM +04 Sharjah ABY392 A320 Salalah (OOSA) Thu 03:55PM +04 Sharjah ABY357 A320 Erbil (ORER) Thu 09:40AM +04 Sharjah ABY163 A320 Dammam (OEDF) Thu 08:10AM +04 Sharjah ABY368 A320 Baghdad (ORBI) Wed 10:05AM +04 Sharjah ABY357 A320 Erbil (ORER) Wed 09:40AM +04 Sharjah ABY163 A320 Dammam (OEDF) Wed 08:10AM +04 Sharjah ABY321 A321 Istanbul (LTFM) Wed 08:05AM +04 Sharjah ABY532 A320 Kathmandu (VNKT) Wed 08:00AM +04 Al Maktoum RJA82 A321 Amman (OJAI) Fri 11:55AM +04 Al Maktoum BYD91 A319 Male (VRMM) Tue 04:40AM +04

Total cancellations: 26

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Passenger impact

The immediate effects included missed connections, surge demand for alternate routings through larger hubs, extended wait times for refunds or re‑accommodation, and additional out‑of‑pocket expenses for passengers forced into last‑minute options. Business travellers and transit passengers were most exposed, but family and leisure passengers also faced overnighting and rebooking headaches.

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Industry analysis — general drivers and mitigations

Large clusters of cancellations across multiple airports typically point to intertwined operational stressors: aircraft rotation knock‑on effects, crew rostering limits, maintenance or technical holds on narrow‑body fleets, and occasional strategic rebalancing. Mitigation requires spare aircraft and crew buffers, predictive maintenance, agile rebooking systems and clearer real‑time passenger communications.

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Conclusion

While the 26 cancellations spanned hubs and days rather than a single flashpoint, their cumulative effect created notable regional disruption. Immediate priorities for carriers are re‑seating travellers and restoring capacity; long term, operators will likely review rotation planning and contingency resources to limit the reach of future disruptions.

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Key takeaways

• Total cancellations: 26 across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Maktoum.
• Wide reach: Destinations affected include Nairobi, Cairo, Istanbul, Amman, Islamabad, Mumbai, Dammam, Kathmandu, Salalah, Addis Ababa and Male.
• Equipment: Predominantly narrow‑body aircraft (B737/B738/B38M, A320 family, A21N/A321).
• Operational strain: Repeated cancellations on lines such as MSR1915 and ABQ231 indicate sustained pressure rather than one‑off incidents.
• Passenger priorities: Rebookings, refunds and alternate routings are the immediate concerns; predictive maintenance and contingency reserves are medium‑term solutions.

For travellers, keep airline alerts active, confirm rebooking options promptly, and consider alternate routing through larger Gulf or regional hubs if direct options are limited. We will continue to monitor carrier notices and airport schedules for real‑time aviation updates on these UAE cancellations.