The situation in the Middle East remains dynamic, with carrier positions, airspace access and surcharge applicability all continuing to change at short notice.
Air freight: closures continuing
Several Middle East airspaces remain fully closed, including Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. UAE airspace is restricted with intermittent closures. Abu Dhabi has seen limited Etihad flights resume from today on a time-bound schedule, but this is not a return to normal operations. Dubai and Doha remain significantly disrupted. If your cargo typically routes via Gulf hubs, continue to plan for elevated disruption risk.
Ocean freight: emergency measures broadening
Carriers are extending emergency fuel surcharges to additional trade lanes. MSC has published a further expansion covering Northern Europe to Indian Subcontinent trades, effective 16 March 2026, and additional advisories affecting other regional combinations are following. We expect other major carriers to introduce similar measures in the coming days. Routing continues largely via the Cape of Good Hope for affected networks.
Fuel surcharges: now impacting road as well as ocean and air
This is a significant development in today’s update. Following the RHA reading released today, UK fuel surcharge has increased by 20.20p per litre since last Friday. From 9 March, Ligentia will set UK fuel selling at 23%, reviewed week on week. In Europe, De Rijke Transport B.V. has implemented a 10% Emergency Fuel Surcharge effective today for Netherlands-managed road freight, also on weekly review. Customers with UK or European road legs should expect fuel-related adjustments — your Customer Experience Manager will confirm what applies to your specific flows.
Disclaimer: This update reflects conditions at the time of publication. Carrier schedules, booking acceptance, routings, port operations, capacity and surcharges may change without notice. ETAs and cost impacts are indicative until confirmed at shipment/booking level.
The situation in the Middle East continues to evolve rapidly. Carrier positions, airspace access, booking acceptance and surcharge applicability are all changing daily, in some cases with very little notice.
Air freight: airspace closures and hub disruption continuing
Multiple Middle East airspaces remain fully closed, and key Gulf hubs are not yet operating on normal commercial schedules. In practice this means:
If your air cargo typically routes Asia to Europe/UK, Indian Subcontinent to Europe/UK, or Africa to Europe/UK via these hubs, plan for continued disruption until corridors reopen and schedules stabilise.
Ocean freight: booking suspensions widening and surcharges accelerating
Carriers are escalating emergency measures across Middle East and Gulf trades. Customers should expect:
What does “contingency discharge” mean? In simple terms, a carrier may decide it cannot safely or practically complete a voyage to the originally planned destination. The container may instead be discharged at the next safe port, and customers may need to arrange onward movement from there.
Routing for most affected networks continues via the Cape of Good Hope, which adds significant transit time and contributes to ongoing schedule volatility.
Cost impact: surcharges are now a central issue
Ocean cost pressure is accelerating. A key development since our last update is MSC introducing an Emergency Fuel Surcharge applying to all new bookings from 4 March 2026, covering origins including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Middle East, to destinations including the UK, North West Continent, Mediterranean, Black Sea and Adriatic. We expect other major carriers to follow with similar measures in the coming days.
More broadly, surcharges are increasingly being applied in three ways:
Quote validity windows are shortening across all modes. If you have rates on file that were shared before this week, it is worth checking whether they remain valid.
In parallel, diesel prices in the UK have risen sharply. Our UK supplier network is aligned to the RHA fuel reading on Friday 6 March and will implement emergency fuel measures from the following week. Ligentia will initiate an emergency fuel adjustment on Friday 6 March, contingent on that reading.
Disclaimer: This update reflects conditions at the time of publication. Carrier schedules, booking acceptance, routings, port operations, capacity and surcharges may change without notice. ETAs and cost impacts are indicative until confirmed at shipment/booking level.
The situation in the Middle East remains fast-moving and uncertain. Carriers and airlines are adjusting their positions daily, which means routing, booking acceptance, capacity and costs can change at short notice.
Airspace restrictions across parts of the region are still impacting normal flight patterns. As a result:
If your air cargo typically routes via major Gulf hubs (for example, Asia to Europe/UK connections), plan for higher disruption risk until corridors reopen and schedules stabilise.
Ocean carriers are continuing to implement emergency measures for Middle East and Gulf-linked trades. In practice, customers may see:
What does “contingency discharge” mean?
In simple terms, it means a carrier may decide it cannot safely complete the planned voyage to the original destination port. Instead, the container may be discharged at the next safe port, and customers may need to arrange onward movement from there.
Across many Asia–Europe service networks, routing continues largely via the Cape of Good Hope, which adds time and contributes to ongoing schedule volatility.
Cost pressure is now one of the biggest issues customers are experiencing. Across the market we are seeing:
In parallel, fuel markets remain volatile, which can feed into ocean bunker mechanisms, air freight pricing, and road transport fuel adjustments.
Disclaimer: This update reflects conditions at the time of publication. Carrier schedules, booking acceptance, routings, port operations, capacity and surcharges may change without notice. ETAs and cost impacts are indicative until confirmed at shipment/booking level.
Airspace access, carrier schedules, port operations, capacity and surcharges can change with limited notice. This advisory will be updated as conditions evolve.
Air Freight — DISRUPTED
Middle East airspace restrictions remain largely in place and Gulf hub connectivity is still materially constrained; limited flights are occurring primarily for repatriation/repositioning rather than a return to normal commercial schedules.
Ocean Freight — VOLATILE
Carrier network changes and security/insurance constraints continue to affect routing decisions and schedule integrity.
Surcharges — RISING
Surcharges and shorter validity windows are increasing across air and ocean as capacity tightens and insurance/security conditions evolve.
The situation across the Middle East remains dynamic, with ongoing airspace restrictions and continued changes to carrier networks. While some services are operating, we expect a period of disruption and variability as routes, capacity and schedules adjust.
Air freight: Capacity remains constrained and some hub connectivity is still disrupted, which can lead to reroutes, longer transit times and missed connections.
Ocean freight: Schedule reliability may be weaker in the short term, with possible reroutes and port “bunching” as networks rebalance.
Costs and surcharges: We’re seeing increasing surcharges and shorter rate validity windows as capacity tightens and security/insurance conditions evolve.
Risk is typically higher for flows that rely on Middle East hub connectivity (for example Asia/Indian Subcontinent/Africa into Europe/UK), and for ocean services impacted by security-related routing decisions.
