By Dominic Chopping
Finnair is exploring options to repatriate stranded customers in the Middle East, including whether passengers in Dubai and Doha could travel on land to Muscat in Oman, where some airlines continue to operate.
The Finnish carrier has cancelled its flights to and from Doha and Dubai until March 28 due to the heightened safety situation in the region.
Most airlines have cancelled flights and there are very few options available to reroute customers, while first available flights are days away and more flights are being cancelled every day, it said.
"The European Civil Aviation Authority continues to advise avoiding the airspace of Muscat, but if the situation develops in a positive direction, this is one option that we will investigate," said Finnair's Chief Operating Officer Jaakko Schildt.
"In that case, customers would have to transfer to Muscat by land."
The airline is in talks with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to discuss whether it could assist Finnish customers with land transport and border crossing arrangements.
The Oman border is at times congested and not everyone has been able to cross, it said.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 04, 2026 07:44 ET (12:44 GMT)
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