Air France – KLM Group appears to be struggling with its service resumption to Dubai, and KLM has already canceled all flights until March 27, 2027, which is the start of the IATA Summer Season.
Air France has currently zeroed out all availability until November 8, although they claim to have canceled only through October 31st.
You can access Air France’s page for notices here, and KLM’s here.
Air France’s Notice:
Situation in the Near and Middle East.
Updated : 23 October 2026, 4:45pm Paris local time
Air France is monitoring the developments in the Near and Middle East in real time.
Due to the evolving security situation:
Flights to and from Riyadh are suspended up to and including November 14, 2026.
Flights to and from Dubai remain suspended up to and including October 31, 2026.
Affected customers are being contacted individually.
The flexible booking options outlined below allow customers to cancel or postpone their trip free of charge, even if their flight has not been cancelled.
Air France reiterates that the safety and security of its customers and crews are its absolute priority.
Air France has already cancelled flights until November 7 by zeroing the inventory. They have also extended the cancellations by a week or two at a time since early August.
KLM’s Notice:
Dammam & Riyadh: We have paused all flights to and from Dammam and Riyadh up to and including Friday, November 27, 2026.
Dubai: We have paused all flights to and from Dubai up to and including Saturday, March 27, 2027.
European Union Air Passenger Rights EC 261/2004:
Passengers booked on these now-canceled services are eligible for rerouting on airlines that are currently operating, or, if you were only going to transit in Dubai, to your final destination, bypassing the region altogether.
Note that the passenger can choose to be rerouted at the earliest convenience or opt for a full refund even on non-refundable tickets.
Note that if Air France or KLM informs you about their service cancellation less than 7 days before departure, the passenger is eligible for the EC 261/2004 cash compensation unless the passenger is offered rerouting that departs no more than 1 hour before the scheduled time and arrives no less than 2 hours later.
If you were informed between 7 and 14 days before, you are not eligible for the 600 euro compensation if the replacement flight leaves no more than 2 hours before or arrives no more than 4 hours later.
Even past the 14 days, the airline is required to pay the compensation if they don’t rebook the passenger at the earliest convenience, i.e., claiming that they can only rebook you on select partner airlines.
There is no carve-out for this on EC 261/2004 rules.
Conclusion
KLM’s advice to passengers on the canceled services is extremely murky and doesn’t disclose all their obligations (which isn’t surprising).
But KLM has done it right. They don’t cancel week by week; they’ve canceled the service through the start of the IATA Summer Season in 2027, when demand for the Gulf drops due to extreme heat.
Air France should really decide whether they want to serve Dubai or not rather than zeroing out services one week at a time.