dailynewsnblog
Air Canada has delayed the resumption of flights from 
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) to 
Dubai International Airport (DXB) to 2027. This long route was, of course, suspended due to the ongoing war in Iran. It has also further suspended flights from YYZ to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV).
Each week, airlines submit schedule changes to Cirium Diio, OAG, and other platforms. From examining these updates, various stories may materialize (as in Air Canada’s case). Other examples in the past few days include Air India beginning a new route to North America, United Airlines adding two routes from San Francisco, one of which is brand-new, and Qantas delaying its inaugural international Airbus A321XLR service.
Air Canada Delays Restart Of YYZ-DXB Flights
Canada’s flag carrier has operated between YYZ and DXB since November 2015. Due to the war, flights existed until early March 2026, which was just after the conflict began. Air Canada was to resume flights from Canada’s busiest airport to the Middle East’s busiest facility on October 24, 2026. That’s the final date of the northern aviation summer based on IATA slot seasons.
The new plan is for the route to resume on January 15, 2027. This reflects what is known as of August 11 and may certainly change again. When operational, Air Canada will serve DXB daily using the 298-seat Boeing 787-9. Since the airport pair’s first flight nearly 11 years ago, Cirium shows that the 787-9 has been deployed 80% of the time. The 777-300ER, 777-200LR, and 787-8 have also appeared.
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The Long Route Is Served On Behalf Of Emirates
Air Canada would not fly to DXB but for the 
Star Alliance member’s partnership with 
Emirates. In late 2025, the pair extended their strategic alliance until 2032. Their partnership encompasses many things, including through tickets on both carriers’ flights, Air Canada using DXB’s Terminal Three for quicker and easier transfers, jointly earning and redeeming loyalty program points, having reciprocal lounge access (for certain passengers), and codesharing.
The relationship helps Emirates to increase access to Canada, which has strictly limited the number of flights from the UAE (and various other nations). However, the air service agreement has been loosened in recent years, allowing marginal increases in capacity. Emirates’ partnership with 
United Airlines helps to grow its presence in the US, although this setup is very different, as an open skies agreement exists. This permits unlimited routes and flights.
Emirates serves YYZ daily on the 489-seat Airbus A380, while it operates daily to Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) on the 298-seat A350-900. Service to YUL materialized in July 2023, initially on the 777-300ER and later the 777-200LR. The A350 has the airline’s latest product. Air Canada commenced Vancouver-DXB service in October 2023, but this very long route ended in March 2025.
Let’s look ahead to February 2027, when both Air Canada and Emirates should again operate between YYZ and DXB. In that winter month, the joint schedule is as follows. Both carriers have very different flight times from Canada, which enables different arrival banks in the UAE to be targeted. This increases choice, competitiveness, and market share. En route to YYZ, their similar schedule provides considerable additional capacity at the core time of the day for flights from DXB to North America.
Frequency | YYZ To DXB; Local Times* | DXB To YYZ; Local Times** |
|---|---|---|
Daily | Emirates: 1:55 PM-11:40 AM+1 (A380; 12 hours and 45 minutes) | Air Canada: 1:30 AM-7:20 AM (787-9; 14 hours and 50 minutes) |
Daily | Air Canada: 9:30 PM-7:45 PM+1 (787-9; 13 hours and 20 minutes) | Emirates: 3:30 AM-8:50 AM (A380; 14 hours and 20 minutes |
* In February 2027 | ** In February 2027 |
Where Air Canada’s DXB Passengers Go
Booking data for 2025 suggests that approximately 65% of Air Canada’s YYZ-DXB-YYZ passengers continued on an Emirates flight. Some of the overall market transferred to another service at DXB. The ten most popular cities from YYZ via DXB were Colombo, Karachi, Delhi, Tehran (before the war!), Kochi, Ahmedabad, Kabul, Lahore, Trivandrum, and Hyderabad.
Other passengers who flew Emirates as part of their overall journey include those who transited on another flight at both YYZ and DXB. The top ten segments were Winnipeg to Delhi, followed by Edmonton-Delhi, Edmonton-Kochi, Regina-Ahmedabad, Regina-Delhi, Winnipeg-Ahmedabad, Calgary-Delhi, Edmonton-Kochi, Calgary-Karachi, and Winnipeg-Colombo. Air Canada had a fifth-freedom service from Calgary to Delhi via London Heathrow until March 2025.
