British Airways plans to cut services to the Middle East over the summer, with capacity reallocated to India. "Due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, we have made further changes to our flying schedule to provide greater clarity for our customers," the carrier said on 9 April. "We are keeping the situation under constant review and are in direct contact with affected customers to offer them a range of options," it added. BA’s Dubai service will be reduced from three daily flights to one from 1 July, with a second daily service scheduled to resume in October. Services to Doha and Riyadh will be cut to once daily, with flights to Riyadh returning from mid-May. Tel Aviv will fall from twice daily to once daily from 1 July. Bahrain and Amman services will be suspended for the remainder of the summer season, with resumption planned for 25 October. Separately, BA will permanently suspend its Jeddah service from 24 April. With its Middle East schedule significantly slimmed down, BA will deploy some of the freed-up aircraft on routes to India. Prior to the latest outbreak of violence, a large number of passengers travelling between Europe and India had connected through Middle East hubs. Capacity increases include an additional daily flight to Bangalore during the summer season, bringing the total to 14 weekly services. Delhi will gain three additional weekly flights from mid-July until 20 August, taking the route to 14 weekly services. The route will also be upgauged from an Airbus A350 to a Boeing 777 from 1 June, adding 59 seats per flight. Mumbai will see an extra daily flight from 1 to 19 June, increasing capacity to 21 weekly services. BA will also upgauge its Hyderabad service from a Boeing 787 to a 777, adding 68 seats. In addition, BA will add an extra daily flight to Nairobi from 1 June until 24 October. BA’s expansion in India mirrors moves by Lufthansa Group, which has also added capacity to the subcontinent in response to the situation in the Middle East. On 31 March, the group said it would add seats to services serving Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Lufthansa Group has identified India as a key long-haul market, having signed a joint business agreement with Air India earlier this year. The German airline group has cited the "enormous potential" of the Indian aviation market, noting that routes between its European home markets and India are already its second most important premium long-haul market after the USA.

South African Airways chief executive John Lamola has resigned from his position effective from the end of the month. The Star Alliance carrier says it will be led by Matshela Seshibe, who currently leads subsidiary Air Chefs, until a permanent replacement can be found. Lamola took on the leadership of SAA in May 2022 as it was emerging from business rescue, a form of bankruptcy protection, and navigating the lingering effects of the Covid crisis. Under his stewardship, SAA focused on restoring operations and expanded its fleet from five to 19 aircraft while growing its route network from six to 17 destinations. That included the reintroduction of routes to international destinations such as Sao Paulo and Perth, alongside a strengthening of SAA's domestic presence. "The board and executive management remain firmly committed to ensuring leadership continuity and maintaining operational stability," says SAA. "Like many global airlines, SAA continues to contend with external pressures, including rising aviation fuel costs linked to geopolitical developments in the Middle East, which are impacting the broader industry." Lamola's departure follows the resignations in recent weeks of three SAA board members, citing various reasons.

Some carriers in the Middle East are starting a gradual return to normal operations as airspace restrictions are eased in some countries after the USA and Iran agreed a two-week ceasefire. Aviation authorities in Iraq, Bahrain and Syria have lifted notices to airmen (NOTAMs) that previously barred operation of civilian flights in their airspace. Israel has eased some limits, though its airspace is still formally closed. Airspace in Kuwait and Iran remains closed, while Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have partially opened airspace access. With the opening of its home airspace, Gulf Air started operating a limited schedule of departures from Bahrain International airport on 9 April, to Thiruvananthapuram, Riyadh, Jeddah, Kochi and Dubai. Other routes are to resume over the coming two days. None of the routes will be operated at greater than thrice-weekly frequency, and the carrier is maintaining operations from the King Fahd International airport in Dammam to several destinations. Qatar Airways says it has published a revised schedule "reflecting the gradual increase in flights to and from Doha reaching more than 120 destinations by mid-May 2026". It adds: "All flights to and from Doha continue to operate through dedicated flight corridors established in close co-ordination with the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority." Etihad Airways, meanwhile, says it is in a "phased resumption" of operating to around 80 destinations from its Abu Dhabi hub, and that the schedule is "being expanded carefully and responsibly as conditions allow". El Al says that from the week beginning 13 April it will restore services to around 30 destinations across Europe, the USA and Asia, although sales for outbound flights from Israel remain suspended until 18 April. "Over the course of the month, we will continue to gradually expand the number of destinations, until a full return to operations across our entire network," it adds.