Middle Eastern airlines, some of the biggest globally, have been hit hard by the Iran conflict that has seen attack drones and missile strikes across the Gulf region, disrupting busy airport hubs and redrawing traffic routes across the skies.
Major state-backed carriers in the region, including Emirates, Etihad Airways, flydubai, Qatar Airways, and Air Arabia, saw flight numbers drop to near zero after the initial February 28 strikes by US and Israeli forces on Iran.
Flight numbers from the key United Arab Emirates, which includes Abu Dhabi and Dubai, have slowly picked up since then, though they remain well below pre-conflict levels, according to data compiled by Flightradar24.com.
Flightradar24.com data show Dubai-based Emirates is back at nearly three-quarters of its pre-conflict capacity, with Air Arabia and Etihad at around half. Flydubai is at around a third of its normal level, while Qatar Airways lags at just 20%.
The war on Iran has impacted fares and demand, hit airlines that do not hedge against oil prices as jet fuel prices soar, disrupted schedules in Europe and Asia, prompted airlines to warehouse planes, and led to lengthy "flights to nowhere".
Kenya Airways says war led to demand hike
Kenya Airways said on Monday that demand for seats on its flights had jumped due to the effects of war in the Middle East, with most of the gains coming from Europe, the US, and Asia.
The US-Israeli war on Iran has upset the global aviation industry, prompting some airlines to raise fares and change their schedules to reduce stops at airports in the Middle East, or to cancel flights altogether.
Kenya Airways said its seat load factor was now almost 100%, up from around 70% in January.
"We were like this ... until February. Then it significantly increased. We reached up to 90% total, 90, 99," George Kamal, acting CEO of Kenya Airways, told reporters.
"And so the most we see the gains are coming from Europe, from the US and Asia. Those routes are contributing positively, very positively, to our network now," Kamal added, without giving any further details.
Kenya Airways has about 56 days of jet fuel supply and is making efforts to obtain more from India, its flight operations head, Paul Njoroge, said.