Virgin Atlantic suspends UK flights to Dubai and Seattle

The dispute in the Middle East between the US, Israel, and Iran has caused major disruptions to jet fuel supplies recently.

As a result, jet fuel prices have surged, with fears of shortages continuing to grow.

Major airlines around the world have already responded to rising jet fuel prices by increasing fares and cutting flights.

Lufthansa, for example, announced in April it would cancel 20,000 flights over the following six months to save fuel.

Meanwhile, more than 120 flights from the UK have already been cancelled for May, according to new figures from Aviation analytics company Cirium.

“Risk of some disruption” to flights this summer

Despite all these cancellations, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, speaking on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips recently, said there would be limited disruptions to upcoming summer holidays.

Ms Alexander explained: “I’ve spent every week of the last two months in close contact with airlines and airports.

“On Thursday of this week, airlines told me very clearly that they have good visibility over the next six to eight weeks of jet fuel supply.

“There is no current disruption to jet fuel supplies.

She continued: “The last thing I want is for people to turn up at a departure gate and have last-minute cancellations.

“I am confident, sat here today on the basis of the information that I have available to me, that the majority of people who are travelling this summer will have a similar experience to that which they had last year.”

The Government has also introduced a temporary rule change allowing airlines to group passengers from different flights together onto fewer planes to save fuel.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has also issued an update saying there is “a risk of some disruption” to travel this summer due to the situation in the Middle East, but reassured travellers they would be “well protected”.

The CAA said: “As the summer travel season approaches, airlines, government and industry partners are working closely to support smooth journeys.

“While there is a risk of some disruption as a result of the situation in the Middle East, travellers in the UK are well protected by some of the strongest passenger rights in the world, offering reassurance if disruption does occur.”

Virgin Atlantic temporarily suspends flights from the UK to 2 holiday hotspots

Amid all the travel chaos caused by the conflict in the Middle East, Virgin Atlantic has released its winter 2026 schedule update.

The airline has “significantly” increased its capacity to South Africa for the upcoming winter season.

But Virgin Atlantic has also made the “difficult decision” to temporarily suspend all seasonal services to Dubai and Seattle for winter 2026.

These services will resume in March 2027.

In the meantime, those hoping to travel to Seattle can fly with Virgin Atlantic’s partner Delta Air Lines, which offers daily services from London Heathrow.

In a statement on its website, Virgin Atlantic said: “Unfortunately, we have taken the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our seasonal service to Dubai for the winter 2026 season, while services to Seattle will be temporarily suspended for the Winter 2026 season only, before resuming in March 2027.

The airline continued: “Our schedule and any affected bookings will be updated in the GDSs on Saturday 09 May 2026.

“We’re very sorry for the disappointment caused to our customers.”

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