British Airways returns to Dubai as Lufthansa Group sets 25 November restart

British Airways flight BA105 landed at Dubai International at 7.33am on 4 November 2026, the airline's first arrival in the city in eight months, ending a suspension The National attributed to the regional conflict that began on 28 February 2026. Lufthansa, SWISS and Eurowings are scheduled to follow on 25 November, while Air Canada and KLM have cancelled Dubai services until the end of March 2027. For owners of short term rental apartments and hotel rooms, the question for the winter season is how quickly European and North American seats return, and this week gave the first firm dates.

Who is flying again, and when

British Airways is operating one daily flight between London Heathrow and Dubai this winter and plans a second daily service in summer 2027, per The National on 4 November 2026. The restart was first planned for 25 October. British Airways' Abu Dhabi service remains suspended and is not expected before the winter 2027 to 2028 season, per the same report.

The Lufthansa Group has set its own dates. The SWISS newsroom said on 23 October 2026 that SWISS and the Lufthansa Group postponed their Dubai resumption from 27 October to 25 November, citing "the current situation and the volatile developments in the Middle East." SWISS plans a daily Zurich to Dubai service, Lufthansa plans five weekly flights from Frankfurt and Munich, and Eurowings plans a daily Berlin service, per Gulf News on 2 November 2026. Austrian Airlines is scheduled to return on 12 December with five weekly flights from Vienna.

The SWISS record shows how long the gap has been. Flights were cancelled from 1 March 2026 because airspaces in the region had closed, then the suspension was extended four times before the 25 November date, per the newsbriefs.

Who is still out

Several long haul carriers have not set a return date before 2027. The National reported on 4 November 2026 that Singapore Airlines has extended its Dubai suspension to 28 February 2027, Air Canada and KLM have cancelled services until the end of March 2027, and Virgin Atlantic does not plan to return until October 2027. Gulf News added on 2 November that Cathay Pacific is out until 31 January 2027, Finnair for the winter season and Korean Air until further notice.

Gulf News estimated that up to 36 weekly flights with Europe would return between late October and December. Scheduled departing seat capacity across UAE airports reached 7.2 million in October 2026, up 23 per cent from June, with 4.6 million at Dubai International, per the same report.

How far traffic has recovered

Dubai International handled 31.5 million passengers in the first half of 2026, down 31.3 per cent year on year, with monthly volumes rising from 3.5 million in April to 5 million in June, per Dubai Airports figures reported by Khaleej Times on 26 August 2026. By the end of June almost 50 international airlines served 217 destinations in 99 countries. Paul Griffiths, the chief executive of Dubai Airports, said on 26 August: "As capacity steadily returns across the board, demand is responding immediately."

On 10 September 2026 Mr Griffiths cut the 2026 forecast for Dubai International to 70 million passengers from 100 million and said traffic had recovered to about 84 per cent of the level before the conflict, per Arabian Business.

Tourism followed the same curve. Dubai received 6.97 million international overnight visitors from January to August 2026, with about 869,000 in August, the highest monthly figure since February, per the Government of Dubai Media Office on 13 September 2026. Hotel occupancy was 36 per cent in March and 66 per cent in August, which the Media Office put at 89 per cent of the August 2025 level, across about 149,000 rooms. Western Europe supplied 20 per cent of visitors in the period, South Asia 17 per cent, the GCC 16 per cent and the CIS and Eastern Europe 14 per cent.

What it means for investors

The direct effect is on the holiday home and hotel segments. A short term rental apartment in Dubai Marina and JBR, on Palm Jumeirah or in Downtown Dubai depends on arriving visitors, and Western Europe was the largest source region at 20 per cent of overnight visitors from January to August 2026. The return of British Airways and the Lufthansa Group restores part of that pipeline from late November, in time for the peak months. The August occupancy figure of 66 per cent, against 36 per cent in March, shows the direction, not how the winter will end. No figure in this article supports a rental projection, and none is offered.

For a buyer in the United States or Canada the schedule matters in a practical way. Air Canada's Dubai flights are cancelled until the end of March 2027, so a Canadian owner who wants to inspect a property or spend the winter in it should plan a connecting itinerary this season. The dirham is pegged at AED 3.6725 to the US dollar, so the price of the flight, not the currency, is the variable. A Canadian resident who owns specified foreign property costing more than CAD 100,000 may have to file Form T1135 with the Canada Revenue Agency, per the CRA page modified on 19 October 2026 and covered in our guide to UAE mortgages for US and Canadian citizens. Confirm the position with an adviser. Our US investors page covers the American side.

On financing, the Central Bank of the UAE caps a mortgage on any off plan property at 50 per cent of value and an expatriate's second or investment home at 60 per cent, with a maximum tenor of 25 years, under its Regulations Regarding Mortgage Loans, and the regulation does not mention non residents, so each bank sets its own policy for buyers living abroad. See our non resident mortgages page.

What to watch

Three dates will tell the story. The 25 November restart of Lufthansa, SWISS and Eurowings is the first. The 12 December return of Austrian Airlines is the second. The third is whether Air Canada, KLM and Singapore Airlines confirm or extend their 2027 dates, because each extension keeps a source market on connecting flights for another season.

The monthly Dubai Airports and Department of Economy and Tourism releases will show whether the seats are being filled. Owners who let on a short term basis should read the November and December occupancy figures when they appear, rather than the airline announcements, before changing pricing or choosing between a holiday let and a long term tenancy.