The United Arab Emirates has barred foreign airlines from operating at Dubai International and Dubai World Central until further notice, following a drone strike that ignited a fuel tank near the former and briefly halted operations.

According to a report in the Indian newspaper The Economic Times, the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) informed carriers that only UAE-based operators may continue flights. Services at Dubai International had begun resuming on March 16, 2026, but the regulator imposed the indefinite ban later that day.

IndiGo Airlines confirmed the operational halt in a social media update, detailing that "landing permissions for aircraft operating into DXB have been suspended until further notice."

According to ch-aviation capacities for the week of March 23, Emirates accounts for 55.9% of Dubai International's seat supply, followed by flydubai (18.6%), Saudia (1.9%), and IndiGo Airlines (1.7%). Ninety-five carriers in total have scheduled passenger capacity from the airport. Most airlines have already issued their own notices of flight cancellations there, at least until the summer.

Indian airline executives told the newspaper that the restrictions unfairly benefit Dubai-based airlines. One official said, "If Indian carriers are not getting to operate from Dubai when Emirates is operating multiple flights per day, this is no level playing field. The government should cap the number of flights Emirates and flydubai can operate."

The incident marks the third drone-related attack in the vicity of Dubai International since the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran. Flight activity at Dubai's main hub has remained volatile, with repeated suspensions affecting Emirates in particular.