Strait of Hormuz Tensions Disrupt Gulf Shipping, Flights and Fuel Supply as Diplomacy Stalls
Dubai: Two maritime incidents on the same day, August 11, laid bare the operational cost of escalating Gulf tensions. The UK Maritime Trade Operations reported a container ship encounter with military forces in the Gulf of Oman near Gwadar, Pakistan, and a cargo vessel struck by an unknown projectile off Al Mokha, Yemen, in the southern Red Sea. The Yemen incident resulted in casualties. Both corridors are now flagged for heightened caution, embedding measurable risk into shipping routes that carry a significant share of global trade.
The energy sector is feeling the strain directly. Crude prices surged approximately 10 per cent over the past week as confidence fades that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen soon. Diesel prices in the US and Europe have climbed alongside crude, driven partly by refinery disruptions, including attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Jazan facility. Operators expect to bring Jazan back online around August 30, tying the energy sector’s recovery timeline directly to the trajectory of regional tensions.
Air travel disruptions have been substantial and uneven. Emirates, Etihad Airways and Air Arabia have cancelled multiple services to Bahrain, Kuwait and Doha. Some carriers have begun restoring capacity: Qatar Airways resumed passenger flights to Bahrain, Kuwait and Erbil from August 8, and Jazeera Airways has restarted Kuwait operations. By contrast, several major international carriers remain suspended or severely curtailed. Singapore Airlines has postponed its Dubai resumption to October 24, British Airways has suspended Dubai flights until October 25, and Air Canada has extended its suspension until mid-January 2027. Air France’s Dubai services remain paused pending a security assessment through August 18. Turkish Airlines has resumed flights to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency extended its conflict-zone advisory for Gulf airspace through August 31. Multiple governments have cautioned travellers to prepare for continued disruption.
Meanwhile, diplomatic actors are pressing for a path out. Dr Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, stated that the region cannot persist indefinitely in a state of neither war nor peace, and that any future arrangement must rest on international law, peaceful coexistence and respect for sovereignty. Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty separately discussed de-escalation efforts and the protection of maritime navigation through both the Strait of Hormuz and Bab Al Mandab.
Resolution, however, looks distant. US President Donald Trump said Monday he would seek conflict compensation from Iran as part of any negotiated settlement, a direct counter to Tehran’s own demands for US war reparations. The gap between those positions is wide.
For UAE residents travelling from Gulf airports in the near term, airlines are recommending arrival at least three hours before departure, verification of flight status before leaving home, and keeping contact details current with carriers for real-time notifications. The operational picture remains fluid. Whether the partial restoration of routes by carriers like Qatar Airways and Jazeera signals a broader return to normal, or simply a brief window before further disruption, depends on how quickly the diplomatic and security situation moves, and in which direction.