After Middle East routes had effectively been put on “pause” for several days, Chinese airlines have finally delivered a breakthrough.
According to China Central Television (CCTV News), Hainan Airlines successfully operated two round-trip flights between Haikou and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 2 and March 4.
* Air China planned to operate one round-trip flight between Beijing Capital and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 5, 6, and 7, respectively. It will also run one round-trip flight between Beijing Capital and Dubai, UAE on March 6, 7, and 8.
* China Eastern Airlines planned to operate one round-trip flight between Beijing Daxing and Muscat, Oman on March 5.
* China Southern Airlines planned to operate one round-trip flight between Guangzhou and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 6, mainly to bring stranded passengers and crew members back to China.
Data from the VariFlight app shows that at 13:32 on March 5, Air China flight CA789 departed from Beijing Capital International Airport bound for Riyadh. The flight became the first Chinese carrier service to the Middle East since the regional situation disrupted operations, reopening a narrow corridor in what had been a temporarily frozen air link over the Middle East.
What makes the sudden halt even more striking is that just weeks earlier, in February 2026, direct routes between China and the Middle East had reached a peak phase of recovery.
According to DAST data from Flight Master, flights between mainland China and major Middle Eastern countries recovered to 167.9% of 2019 levels during the month. Among them, routes to the United Arab Emirates recorded 358 flights, Qatar 120, while Iran and Israel had 41 and 16 flights respectively, highlighting a strong rebound in connectivity.
However, this positive momentum came to an abrupt stop in early March.
Monitoring by Flight Master DAST shows that from March 1, direct flights between mainland China and countries including the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar dropped to zero. The Middle East direct-flight market instantly entered a “freeze,” with only a small number of flights still operating to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt. It was not until March 4 that the UAE resumed a single flight, marking one of the few signs of easing during the suspension.
Against this backdrop, Air China’s resumption of the Beijing–Riyadh route is more than a simple route restart. It represents a cautious test by Chinese airlines as they attempt to reopen Middle East services amid broader regional disruptions.
