After a temporary halt in services for several days, Chinese airlines have resumed their flights to the Middle East. According to reports from CCTV News, Hainan Airlines successfully conducted two round-trip flights between Haikou and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 2 and March 4.

Air China is set to operate flights between Beijing and Riyadh on March 5, 6, and 7, and also to Dubai on March 6, 7, and 8. China Eastern Airlines will conduct flights from Beijing to Muscat on March 5, while China Southern Airlines has scheduled flights from Guangzhou to Riyadh, primarily to repatriate stranded passengers back to China.

Data from VariFlight indicates that Air China’s flight CA789 was the first service to depart for the Middle East after the regional disruptions. Previously, direct routes between China and the Middle East had seen a significant recovery, reaching 167.9% of 2019 levels in February 2026, but encountered a sharp decline to zero flights by March 1. The resumption of Air China’s route is seen as a cautious effort by airlines to re-establish services amid these ongoing challenges.