British Airways said on Thursday it will cut its Middle East schedule when services resume, permanently drop Jeddah as a destination, and redirect capacity to India and Africa, as persistent regional disruption weighs on demand along the Europe-Asia long-haul corridor.
The IAG-owned carrier, which suspended parts of its Gulf network when the US-Israeli war against Iran escalated in late February, said flights to Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv will be reduced to one daily service from July 1, from two or more previously. Riyadh will drop from two daily flights to one from mid-May. Changes apply across the summer season, which runs through October 24, with one Dubai service restarting on October 16.
In place of the Middle East capacity, the airline is adding new daily flights to Bengaluru and Nairobi and increasing frequencies to Delhi and Hyderabad. British Airways said the reshaping reflects both a commercial recalibration and the narrower flight corridors still available between Europe and Asia following the conflict, which forced the cancellation of more than 21,000 flights across global carriers.
The route reshuffle has indirect implications for Sri Lankan travellers, who do not have a direct BA service from Colombo but typically connect through Dubai or Doha on Gulf carriers. Reduced BA capacity on those hubs may further tighten Europe–Sri Lanka itineraries already squeezed by the conflict, though the added Indian connections could offer alternative routings via Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad.
The announcement adds to a wider post-ceasefire aviation reshaping. Kuwait Airways restarted weekly Colombo services earlier this month and Turkish Airlines has expanded its Colombo frequency, while Emirates, Qatar Airways and Saudia have yet to confirm full schedule restoration.
