2026 has been a more fluid year for Emirates than the Dubai-based UAE flag carrier might have first imagined. Indeed, US and Israeli attacks on Iran have caused havoc as far as Middle Eastern airspace is concerned, with airlines such as Emirates constantly having to redraw their route maps as a result. This is reflected in a handful of notable absentees from the airline’s schedules for August 2026.

Indeed, according to present and historical scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, there are six routes that Emirates served in August 2025 that are not part of its plans for the same month this year. All of them originate out of its main hub at Dubai International Airport (DXB), and, while some are set to return once the autumn comes around, not all have set dates just yet.

Baghdad Will Return In October

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Among Emirates’ six missing destinations from Dubai this August is Baghdad International Airport (BGW) in Iraq. The carrier ceased flying there in mid-March amid the ongoing regional hostilities, although May did see a temporary return to service, with three more rotations operating. Now, Emirates is not currently expecting to resume its flights from Dubai to the Iraqi capital city until October 1, 2026.

Thereafter, it will operate a daily rotation on this route using the Airbus A350, with capacity split between its 298-seat and 312-seat layouts. As it happens, Baghdad has seen all of its Emirates flights from Dubai operated by the A350 as of January 1 of this year. Before then, the type was already operating three of the seven weekly flights, but it has since taken over the other four that the 777 flew. Emirates says:

“The exclusive deployment of the A350 to Baghdad underscores Emirates’ long-standing commitment to Iraq and the wider region. The Airbus A350 was first deployed to Baghdad in August [2025] on flights EK941/942.”

Three September Additions

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Emirates’ return to Baghdad will follow the resumption of three paused routes in September. The most distant of those that Emirates served in August 2025 but will not do so in the same month this year links Dubai with Algiers (ALG). Like Baghdad, Emirates last served Algiers regularly in March, with three more rotations in May. The carrier’s Boeing 777-300ER flights to Algiers resume on September 1.

Emirates will also not be serving Bahrain International Airport (BAH) this August, despite having done so in the same month last year. This is a curious omission, as, unlike Baghdad and Algiers, Bahrain has otherwise been served relatively consistently by Emirates this year, with 777 and A350 flights running from January to July. However, after the resumption on September 1, only the A350 will serve the route.

Returning to Iraq, Basra International Airport (BSR) in the southeast of the Middle Eastern country is the third and final August omission whose flights will resume in September. Operated by the Boeing 777-200LR and 777-300ER, these last operated regularly in March, with May seeing an extra two rotations. Upon their resumption on September 2, these services will link Dubai with Basra five times a week.

Damascus & Tehran Remain Off The Table

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Despite the promise of these resumptions, two of Emirates’ destinations that it served in August of 2025 but will not be doing so this time around are yet to have a concrete restart date applied to them. One of these is Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) in Iran, which no foreign carriers can currently fly to on account of the 2026 Iran Crisis. Emirates has not flown there since March this year.

Rounding out the list, there is also no end in sight as far as the suspension of Emirates’ flights between its main hub at Dubai International Airport and Damascus International Airport (DAM) in Syria is concerned. With that being said, this has been a longer-term omission. Indeed, while these Boeing 777-200LR-operated services ran last August, they ceased in November of 2025, and are yet to return.