Emirates has again announced the temporary suspension of all flights to and from Dubai.

Emirates’ latest travel update comes on Monday March 16 and advised that all travellers should not go to Dubai International Airport.

The suspension of services follows advice issued by the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority on Monday morning, which grounded all DXB flights.

In the airline’s latest update, it stated that all Emirates flights to and from Dubai remain suspended until further notice.

It said it is working closely with the relevant authorities to assess the situation and support the safe resumption of operations when possible.

“Customers are reminded not to travel to the airport at this time and to continue checking this page for the latest updates.

“We thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding. The safety of our passengers and crew remains our highest priority,” the airline stated.

The flights’ suspension comes after US and Israeli strikes on Iran, what US President Donald Trump described as a “major combat operation”, forcing airlines to reroute services that would normally cross the region.

The Gulf carrier had resumed Dubai-Lagos–Dubai skeletal flight operations on 6th March 2026.

BusinessDay had earlier reported that  passengers from Nigeria who had secured tickets with Emirates Airlines prior to its temporary suspension of operations, prompted by Middle East airspace closures, were growing increasingly disillusioned by the lack of progress on refund requests.

Despite travel agents submitting refund applications on behalf of their clients, resolutions remain elusive.

Conferences in Dubai are being shifted or cancelled and many are trapped approaching Emirates for refund.

Even when Emirates announced the resumption of limited Dubai-Lagos-Dubai flights for 6th March 2026, refund continued to rise unaddressed.

 

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

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