Over Saturday, 28 February 2026 and Sunday, 1 March 2026, the security environment in the Middle East escalated rapidly following reported military strikes and subsequent retaliation. As the situation intensified, several governments across the region moved to close or restrict airspace, triggering immediate flight cancellations and reroutes. This has also increased risk and uncertainty across key maritime corridors, including the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in heightened schedule volatility across both air and ocean networks.
In light of the current security situation in the Middle East, KLN has taken the precautionary step of temporarily suspending operations across affected areas to safeguard our people, partners, and cargo.
At this time, the majority of GCC airspace remains closed, and seaport activity in the Gulf of Hormuz is suspended. As a result, air and sea freight services to and from the region are experiencing significant disruption. The situation remains dynamic and may change at short notice.
Our Middle East team is closely monitoring developments around the clock and working in coordination with local authorities, carriers, and partners to evaluate safe and practical alternatives wherever possible. We are proactively reviewing all impacted shipments, assessing contingency routing options, and preparing recovery plans to enable swift action as soon as conditions permit.
We are committed to maintaining transparent and proactive communication throughout this period. You will receive regular updates from us as the situation evolves, and our teams will reach out directly regarding any shipments requiring specific action or alternative arrangements. Your usual KLN contact remains fully available to support you at any time.
We value the trust you place in KLN and remain firmly committed to protecting your supply chain, minimising disruption wherever possible, and supporting your business with clarity, responsiveness, and care.
We would like to provide you with the latest operational update across the Middle East. The situation remains dynamic, and certain locations continue to experience operational constraints. Below is a structured overview by country for ease of reference.
Port
Jebel Ali: DP World has confirmed that operations at Jebel Ali Port have resumed including the handling of cargo currently within the port. While activity is underway across the terminal network, port operations may continue to experience localized restrictions or adjustments due to ongoing security and logistical assessments.
Khalifa: Operating normally.
Sharjah: Operating normally.
Fujairah & Khor Fakkan: Fully operational with no navigational warnings issued.
Ruwais: Operating at ISPS Level 2.
Air
UAE airspace remains largely restricted; however, limited controlled openings have allowed Emirates (EK) and Etihad (EY) to reposition aircraft to assess operational safety. Air cargo movement for essential goods, such as perishables and pharmaceutical shipments, has commenced on a case-by-case basis, subject to regulatory approvals and operational clearances.
These precautionary movements do not yet signal a full resumption of cargo capacity, and airfreight operations remain constrained.
KLN Warehouse Facilities
DXB: Currently suspended
JAFZA, DWC and AUH: Warehouses operating with reduced head count
Land Transportation
Domestic and cross boarder road movements remain open with no operational impact.
UAE to Oman (UAE Hatta – OM Wajajah) borders
UAE to KSA (UAE Sila – KSA Batha) borders
UAE to Bahrain (UAE Sila – KSA Batha – BAH Causeway) borders
UAE to Qatar (UAE Sila – KSA Batha – QAT Abu Samra) borders
UAE to Kuwait (UAE Sila – KSA Batha – KSA Khafji – KWI Sulibiyah)
UAE to Jordan (UAE Sila – KSA Batha – JO Omari) borders
UAE to Egypt (UAE Sila – KSA Batha – EG Safaja)
Port
All ports fully operational. No alerts or restrictions reported. ISPS Level 1 remains unchanged.
Air
Airspace remains open, although some international routes are affected by broader regional airspace restrictions.
KLN Warehouse Facilities
Jeddah, Riyadh and Damman: Warehouses are fully operational
Land Transportation
Domestic and cross-border road movements remain open with no operational impact.
KSA to Oman (VIA RUBU AL KHALI) borders
KSA to UAE (KSA Batha - UAE Sila) borders
KSA to Bahrain (BAH Causeway) border
KSA to Kuwait (KSA Khafji – Kuwait Sulibiyah)
KSA to Qatar (QAT Abu Samra) border
KSA to Jordan (KSA Haditha – JO Omari) borders
KSA to Egypt (KSA Diba – EG Safaja) borders
Port
Asyad Dry Dock (Duqm): Operations suspended.
Salalah (GCT): Restricted operations
Mina Al Fahal, Sohar & Duqm Port: Fully operational. ISPS Level 1 remains in effect.
Air
Airspace remains open; however, select airline cancellations are impacting flight availability and scheduling.
Land Transportation
Domestic and cross-border road movements remains open with no operational impact.
Oman to KSA (VIA RUBU AL KHALI) borders
Oman to UAE (OM Wajajah – UAE Hatta) borders
Oman to Bahrain (KSA VIA RUBU AL KHALI - BAH Causeway) border
Oman to Qatar (KSA VIA RUBU AL KHALI - QAT Abu Samra) border
Oman to Jordan (KSA VIA RUBU AL KHALI - KSA Haditha – JO Omari) borders
Oman to Egypt (KSA VIA RUBU AL KHALI - KSA Diba – EG Safaja) borders
Port
All port operations temporarily suspended, including pilotage services. ISPS Level 1 remains in effect.
Air
Airspace remains closed, limiting air freight and personnel movement.
Land Transportation
Domestic and cross boarder road movements remains open with no operational impact.
Bahrain to KSA (BAH Causeway) borders
Bahrain to UAE (BAH Causeway – KSA Batha – UAE Sila) borders
Bahrain to Oman (KSA VIA RUBU AL KHALI - KSA AL RUBU AL KHALI) border
Bahrain to Qatar (BAH Causeway – KSA Batha – QA Abu Samra) border
Bahrain to Kuwait (BAH Causeway – KSA Khafji – KWI Sulibiya)
Bahrain to Jordan (BAH Causeway - KSA Haditha – JO Omari) borders
Bahrain to Egypt (BAH Causeway - KSA Diba – EG Safaja) borders
Port
All ports operational.
Shuwaikh Port: ISPS Level 2
Other ports: ISPS Level 1
Air
Airspace remains closed, limiting air freight capacity and crew movements.
Land Transportation
Domestic and cross boarder road movements remains open with no operational impact.
KWI to ALL GCC VIA KSA KHAFJI
KWI to Jordan (KWI Nowaiseb – KSA Haditha – JO Omari)
KWI to Egypt (KWI Nuwaiseeb – KSA DIBA – EG Safaja)
Port
Ras Laffan, Mesaieed, Hamad, Doha & Al Ruwais: Operational, with normal cargo handling continuing.
Air
Qatari airspace remains closed; all flight operations (including passenger and cargo services) are temporarily suspended, restricting air freight capacity and crew movements.
Land Transportation
Domestic and cross-border road movements remains open with no operational impact.
QAT to UAE (Abu Samra – KSA Batha – UAE Sila) borders
QAT to Oman (QA Abu Samra – KSA Rubu Alkhali) border
QAT to Bahrain (QA Abu Samra – KSA Batha – BAH Causeway) border
QAT to Kuwait (QA Abu Samra – KSA Batha – KSA Khajfi – KWI Sulibiya)
QAT to Jordan (QA Abu Samra - KSA Haditha – JO Omari) borders
QAT to Egypt (QA Abu Samra - KSA Diba – EG Safaja) borders
Port
All Egyptian ports and the Suez Canal remain fully operational. ISPS Level 1 remains unchanged.
Air
Airspace remains open with no reported operational impact.
Land Transportation
Domestic and cross boarder road movements remains open with no operational impact.
Port
Aqaba Port fully operational; all terminals and marine services functioning normally. ISPS Level 1 remains in place.
Air
Airspace remains open with no reported disruption.
Land Transportation
Domestic and cross boarder road movements remains open with no operational impact.
KLN continues to monitor developments closely in coordination with port authorities, airlines, carriers, and regional partners. Given the evolving nature of the situation, conditions may change at short notice.
Our teams are actively reviewing shipment-specific impacts and will communicate directly should any adjustments or contingency measures be required.
We wish to advise of ongoing widespread protests across Pakistan, following the reported death of Ayatollah Al Khamenei. Violent clashes have been reported in several cities, with major roads blocked and transportation severely disrupted.
While all airports and seaports in Pakistan remain operational, the unrest is causing significant delays in landside transport and cargo movement.
Several Middle Eastern hub carriers have suspended flight operations to/from Pakistan until further notice, including:
Currently, the following carriers remain operational:
However, available capacity is significantly reduced (estimated at 20–30% of normal levels), and rates have increased across all operating airlines.
In parallel, several Middle Eastern hub carriers have also suspended operations to/from Dhaka, Bangladesh, including:
Additional impacts:
Customers should anticipate:
CMA CGM has decided to suspend all bookings with immediate effect and until further notice for ports of loading / ports of discharge located in the following countries:
- Bahrain (all ports)
- Kuwait (all ports)
- Qatar (all ports)
- United Arab Emirates (all ports except Fujairah and Khor Fakkan)
- Saudi Arabia (all ports except Jeddah, King Abdallah Port, Yanbu, NEOM)
- Iraq (port of Umm Qasr)
We are closely monitoring the evolving situation in both countries and will provide further updates as developments occur.
The Middle East is one of the world’s most important aviation crossroads linking Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania. With broad airspace restrictions and key hub interruptions, the impact is rippling well beyond the region—tightening air cargo capacity and reducing schedule reliability globally.
Current situation
Airline updates
Air cargo implications
With Gulf hubs constrained, available uplift drops sharply. Longer routings also mean higher operating costs—typically translating into capacity tightness, longer transit times, and upward rate pressure in the short term.
Escalated security risk is affecting maritime traffic through key chokepoints, particularly the Strait of Hormuz and knock-on effects across broader Middle East routings (including Red Sea network impacts). Major container lines have implemented emergency operational measures.
MSC
CMA CGM
Hapag-Lloyd
Maersk / wider network
Expect holding patterns, diversions and “bunching” effects: missed berths, rolled bookings, and recovery delays that can linger even after restrictions ease. Alternative discharge patterns may emerge as networks rebalance, with flow-on congestion shifting across hubs and feeder networks.
We recommend contacting airlines, shipping lines and logistics providers directly for shipment-specific updates (cancellations, reroutings, surcharges, revised transit times). Prepare for delays, capacity constraints and rate volatility across both air and sea freight, and monitor contractual terms closely (force majeure, war risk, surcharge provisions).
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Air freight:
Ocean freight (Strait of Hormuz / Persian Gulf):
Ports and terminals:
Official maritime risk posture:
If restrictions persist, the market typically shifts into a “disruption pricing” environment: constrained capacity, lower schedule integrity, and more exceptions management. Even once conditions stabilise, recovery can take weeks as carriers unwind backlogs and reposition assets.
Given the fluid risk environment, we are actively monitoring developments and working with carriers and local partners to evaluate safe and practical alternatives. We are reviewing impacted shipments, assessing contingency routing options, and preparing recovery plans so we can move quickly as conditions permit.
We will continue to provide updates as the situation evolves, and we will contact you directly where specific action or alternate arrangements are required.