UK–Gulf passenger traffic was still 20.6% below 2025 in August, CAA data show, and UAE flights went from among the most punctual major markets at UK airports to the least punctual in July.
Cover image: An Emirates Airbus A380 departing London Heathrow (file photo) — photo by Myself (Adrian Pingstone)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
UK–Gulf passenger traffic was still 20.6 per cent below 2025 levels in August 2026, and the recovery has nearly stalled. A Travel Market News analysis of UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data counts 1,118,233 passengers on routes to the six Gulf Cooperation Council states (the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait), against 1,409,174 in August 2025. In July the gap was 22.0 per cent.
In July, UK–UAE flights were the least punctual of the 29 foreign countries with at least 1,000 flights at UK airports, by our count, at 48.0 per cent on time; a year earlier they ranked fourth of 30. British Airways, which operated 464 Gulf flights in August 2025, flew none this August.
How far has UK–Gulf passenger traffic recovered?
The gap closed quickly through the spring and early summer, then barely moved in August, while total UK international traffic rose 1.4 per cent.
| 2026 | UK–Gulf passengers | Change on 2025 | Emirates on time | Etihad on time | Qatar Airways on time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 545,217 | −55.9% | 61.1% (83.3%) | 49.1% (87.8%) | 72.9% (86.5%) |
| May | 655,691 | −40.4% | 81.8% (80.1%) | 48.2% (85.7%) | 84.2% (85.7%) |
| June | 726,481 | −32.4% | 89.4% (68.4%) | 64.1% (74.4%) | 66.2% (66.8%) |
| July | 1,017,234 | −22.0% | 46.1% (73.9%) | 54.0% (85.3%) | 57.3% (78.8%) |
| August | 1,118,233 | −20.6% | 57.3% (71.3%) | 62.2% (86.6%) | 70.1% (75.0%) |
Source: our analysis of CAA airport data (passengers, both directions) and CAA on-time tables (airlines' flights at all reporting UK airports). Same month of 2025 in brackets.
In August, UAE traffic fell 15.5 per cent, Qatar 23.7 per cent and Saudi Arabia 40.8 per cent; only Oman grew. Dubai was down 19.0 per cent, while Abu Dhabi was almost flat. The CAA's Middle East region lost 291,497 passengers, the largest numerical fall of any region.
Which airlines are missing from UK–Gulf routes?
In the CAA's punctuality files, which count arrivals and departures, British Airways flew 464 flights on its Heathrow routes to Dubai, Riyadh, Doha, Jeddah and Bahrain in August 2025, and none in July or August 2026. Wizz Air UK's 123 Gatwick flights to Jeddah and Medina, and Virgin Atlantic's 62 to Riyadh, also disappeared.
BA suspended its Gulf flights after the US-Israel attack on Iran on 28 February, Khaleej Times reported. The National's airline tracker, updated on 8 October, says BA resumed Doha on 1 September at one flight a day and plans to restart Dubai and Riyadh on 3 November (see our round-up of Middle East schedule changes).
Emirates filled part of the gap with 1,240 UK flights in August, up from 1,178. Etihad was level at 372, while Qatar Airways fell to 870 from 1,022 and Saudia to 338 from 479. Riyadh Air added 62 on its new Heathrow–Riyadh route.
AeroCorner reported that Riyadh's main airport, shut by Houthi attacks in October, reopened to Saudi airlines on 25 October; the August figures predate the closure.
How punctual are UK–Gulf flights now?
The CAA counts a flight as on time if it leaves or reaches the gate early or no more than 15 minutes late; cancelled flights count as not on time. On that basis, our calculation shows Gulf flights were 76.6 per cent on time in July 2025, against 61.3 per cent for all other UK flights. In July 2026 the order flipped, at 58.2 against 66.0 per cent. In August Gulf flights were narrowly ahead again, at 67.3 against 64.8 per cent, versus 75.8 against 68.0 a year earlier.
UAE routes drove the slide: 58.4 per cent on time in August against 75.2 per cent, with average delay up from 11.9 to 22.4 minutes. Only 48.4 per cent of August departures from the UK to the UAE left on time, against 72.0 per cent a year earlier.
For agents connecting UK travellers to Asia, Africa or Australia via the Gulf, four in five of last year's UK–Gulf flights were operating in August, but later.
The tables cover selected UK airports and record delays, not their causes.
How did Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways rank?
Among the CAA's top 50 airlines by UK flights, Emirates came last in July, a month after ranking second. It was 44th in August. Etihad's August rate was 24.4 points below 2025, the steepest fall of any top-50 airline.
March was worse: the CAA logged 78.8 per cent of Qatar Airways' UK flights as cancelled at less than 24 hours' notice, along with 40.3 per cent of Etihad's and 38.0 per cent of Emirates'.
Frequently asked questions
How many passengers flew between the UK and the Gulf in August 2026?
CAA route data show 1,118,233 passengers between UK airports and the six Gulf Cooperation Council states in August 2026, down 20.6 per cent from 1,409,174 a year earlier. The count covers both directions and, because it is by airport pair, includes passengers connecting onward through Gulf hubs.
What counts as an on-time flight in UK CAA statistics?
A flight is on time if it leaves or reaches the gate early or no more than 15 minutes late against its planned gate time. Departures are timed at off-block and arrivals at on-block. Cancelled flights count as not on time, and only selected UK airports are covered.
When will British Airways fly to Dubai again?
According to The National's airline tracker, updated on 8 October, British Airways plans to restart London to Dubai flights on 3 November 2026 with one daily flight, rising to two a day in summer. Riyadh is due back the same day.
Do the CAA figures explain why Gulf flights were late?
No. The tables record how late flights were, not why, and the CAA warns that extraordinary circumstances outside airlines' and airports' control can affect schedules. Airspace restrictions linked to the Iran war persist, The National reported on 8 October, but the data cannot show whether they caused the delays.
