Dubai has capped foreign airlines to a single daily flight to its airports until May 31 amid the ongoing Iran crisis, raising concerns of significant revenue losses for Indian carriers that had scheduled far higher frequencies than their global peers, according to industry correspondence.
Following the fresh decision, the global carriers including Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and British Airways have suspended flights to Dubai until at least May 31, opting instead to deploy capacity on non-stop Asia-Europe routes amid strong demand and rising fares.
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The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), representing major carriers such as IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet, has written to the Indian government seeking intervention with Dubai authorities.
In its March 31 letter, the FIA also suggested that India consider reciprocal restrictions on Dubai-based airlines like Emirates and Flydubai if the curbs remain in place.
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Indian airlines are already grappling with elevated fuel costs and longer flight durations to Western destinations after being barred from using Pakistani airspace following last year's military tensions.
In a March 27 communication to airlines, Dubai Airports said that carriers would be limited to one round trip per day to both Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) for the summer season from April 20 to May 31, extending restrictions imposed after the conflict began.
"Carriers continue to be limited to one rotation per day, until capacity allows more to be facilitated ... Additional slots will be allocated if capacity is available," the communication said.
The FIA has argued that the restrictions do not apply to Dubai's own carriers, creating an uneven competitive landscape and potentially leading to “substantial” revenue losses for Indian airlines.
Flydubai said its schedules were approved by relevant authorities, while Emirates did not comment.
The curbs come against the backdrop of longstanding tensions over bilateral air service agreements, with Gulf carriers often criticising India's seat caps, while Indian authorities maintain that such limits are necessary to protect domestic airlines in a highly competitive market.
India remained the largest source market for DXB in 2025, with 11.9 million passengers travelling through the hub.
Data for April and May indicates that Indian carriers are the most exposed to the curbs.
Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express had scheduled over 750 flights to DXB during the period, while IndiGo planned 481 flights. By comparison, Saudia and Gulf Air had planned 480 and 404 flights respectively, and SpiceJet 61.
Under the new cap, each foreign airline would be restricted to roughly 30–31 flights per month—far below the hundreds of services typically operated by Emirates and flydubai, according to Flightradar24 data.
IndiGo said the regional crisis and the extended Dubai restrictions had “significantly constrained” its operations, noting that it had earlier secured approvals for 15 daily flights between India and Dubai.
"As a result, a significant portion of IndiGo's capacity and aircraft time is currently underutilized," the airline said.
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