FRANKFURT, March 25: German aviation giant Lufthansa and Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific have extended flight suspensions to destinations across the Middle East due to the war.
Lufthansa -- which operates Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines and has acquired a stake in Italy's ITA -- said all regional services were cancelled until the end of April due to the "volatile situation".
In addition, most of its carriers had suspended flights to several destinations, including Tehran, Beirut, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, until October 24, Europe's biggest airline group said late Monday.
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Services to Dubai and Tel Aviv were cancelled until May 31.
"The Lufthansa group is continuously monitoring and assessing the situation in the Middle East," it said in a statement.
Cathay Pacific said Tuesday it had extended its flight suspensions to and from Dubai and Riyadh by a month until May 31.
Both Cathay and Lufthansa had already suspended many of their services to the region after Israel and the United States began striking Iran on February 28.
Cathay also announced that it will operate extra flights between Hong Kong and Paris and Zurich "to cater for an upsurge in market demand for Europe".
It also added flights to London this month, and said it had noted a "general increase" in demand from other regions due to travellers looking for alternatives to routes that rely heavily on Middle Eastern hubs.
The Hong Kong government on Monday raised its alert level for travel to Iran and Israel, warning of a "severe threat" and advising the city's residents to avoid all travel to both countries.
