Six flights cancelled at Birmingham Airport as Middle East war continues and pilots of major airline stage 48-hour strike

As the war continues in the Middle East, flights are still being impacted at Birmingham Airport.

Flights to and from Doha and Dubai are cancelled again today (Friday 13 March). 

Alongside this, a flight to and from Frankfurt is also cancelled as pilots working for the major airline Lufthansa are staging a strike.

The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union announced a 48-hour strike at short notice for all Lufthansa flights departing German airports on Thursday and Friday this week.

According to VC, industrial action follows “failed collective bargaining negotiations on remuneration issues at Lufthansa CityLine” and “the company pension scheme for pilots at Lufthansa.”

The airline said it planned to run “more than 50 per cent” of the originally planned flight program across 12 and 13 March, operating up to 60 per cent of long-haul connections.

It is expected that there will be major delays to Lufthansa flights until Saturday. The airline has told travellers to check the current status of flights before heading to the airport.

Listed below are the cancelled flights at Birmingham Airport today.

Departures

• 13:45 to Frankfurt - cancelled

• 14:10 to Doha - cancelled

• 20:50 to Dubai - cancelled

Arrivals

• 12:35 from Frankfurt - cancelled

• 12:40 from Doha - cancelled

• 18:45 from Dubai - cancelled

Flights to and from Doha and Dubai have been cancelled at the West Midlands hub ever since the conflict began in the Middle East at the end of February.

The outbreak of war on 28 February, triggered by Iran's response to US-Israeli missile strikes, resulted in numerous airlines being grounded due to security threats and potential drone activity in the airspace.

Thousands of individuals worldwide have been left stranded in the Middle East, including Dubai, which has risen to the top of the UK government's 'no travel list', unless travel is deemed essential.

Emirates is now operating flights but it still warns passengers to only go to the airport if they have been directly contacted by Emirates that their flight is going ahead.

In a post on X, the airline stated: "Customers can check availability and book on emirat.es/bookflights. We are accommodating customers with earlier bookings as a priority.

"Please do not go to the airport unless you have been notified directly by Emirates or hold a confirmed booking for these flights.

"Customers are advised to review the latest operational updates on http://emirates.com, and check their email for any notifications about changes or cancellations to their flights before travelling to the airport."