KLM will not fly between Amsterdam and Dubai for the rest of the 2026-27 winter season. In an Oct. 26 update to its Middle East statement, the Dutch airline said there will be no Dubai flights up to and including March 27, 2027. Its flights to Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia are canceled through Nov. 27, 2026.
That ends months of rolling, short-term extensions. Since March, KLM had pushed its Dubai return back a few weeks at a time, most recently to Oct. 24. Now it has written off the whole winter in one step. KLM says passengers on canceled flights will be notified.
What changed
KLM first stopped flying to Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam in late February, when airspace across the Gulf closed during the Iran war. Since then it has issued more than a dozen updates. Each one moved the restart date, but none gave travelers much time to plan.
The new update is different in two ways. First, it covers a full season, so anyone with a KLM booking to Dubai before late March can stop waiting for a restart. Second, it splits Dubai from Saudi Arabia. The Saudi routes now have the shorter date, Nov. 27, even though the most recent violence was in Saudi Arabia. KLM has not said why it treated the two differently.
The airline industry's summer schedule season starts on March 28, 2027, the day after the new cutoff. KLM has not said whether Dubai will be on its summer schedule.
If you are booked
KLM says it will contact travelers whose flights are canceled. In earlier updates, it offered free rebooking or a refund through My Trip on its website, and it told travelers who bought through an agency to go back to that agency. When we checked KLM's travel alerts in October, it was letting tickets issued on or before Oct. 23 move to a new date up to Feb. 28, 2027. With flights now off until late March, that window may change, so check My Trip before you pick a new date.
If you want cash rather than a voucher, ask for a refund. In Europe, EU rules on canceled flights apply to KLM because it is an EU airline. Our Middle East disruptions guide explains what you are owed.
If Dubai was a connection on your trip, the better question is how else to get there. Emirates is flying its long-haul network from Dubai. Several other European airlines are still out, though. Our tracker of who is flying to Dubai lists each airline's latest date. The Lufthansa Group, for example, had pointed to Nov. 25 for its return.
What it means for SkyTeam travelers
KLM is a SkyTeam airline, so the cut matters for Flying Blue members who were counting on earning miles and status, and for elite travelers who use SkyTeam lounges at each end.
At Schiphol, Dubai flights leave from the non-Schengen side. That is where KLM's Crown Lounge 52 sits, with a full bar and 20 shower rooms. It stays open for KLM's many other long-haul flights, so nothing changes there for travelers on other routes. The Schengen-side Crown Lounge 25 serves flights within Europe.
In Dubai, travelers who switch to another airline will use that airline's lounge or a card-access lounge instead. Our Dubai airport page lists the lounges at DXB by terminal, with hours and access rules.
Riyadh and Dammam
The Saudi cancellations run through Nov. 27, about a month away. KLM has extended these dates many times this year, so treat a booking for late November or December as unconfirmed until the airline says the route is flying again. Before you travel, check the flight status in the KLM app.
KLM's airline page has its fleet and network. We will update this story if KLM changes its plans again.
