11/04/2026

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BIZ & FINANCE SATURDAY | APR 11, 2026

Dubai caps foreign flights until May 31 NEW DELHI: Dubai has restricted foreign airlines to just one daily flight to its airports until May 31 due to the Iran crisis, igniting revenue loss fears among Indian carriers that had planned more flights than airlines from any other country, letters show. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which represents top carriers IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet, has asked India to push Dubai authorities to lift the curbs and, failing that, to consider reciprocal measures on Dubai carriers including Emirates and flydubai, according to a letter it sent to the Indian government on March 31. Indian carriers are already under financial pressure from higher fuel prices and longer routings to Western destinations because they have been banned from using Pakistani airspace since last year following military tensions between the two neighbours. In a private email to airlines on March 27, seen by Reuters, Dubai Airports said carriers would be allowed one round trip per day to Dubai International Airport (DXB), normally the world’s busiest international travel hub, and the smaller Al Maktoum International Airport during the summer season between April 20 and May 31, extending restrictions implemented after the war began. The FIA told the Indian government the curbs were not being applied to Dubai’s airlines such as Emirates and flydubai, creating an uneven playing field that could lead to “substantial” revenue losses. The measures come after Emirates and other Gulf airlines have long complained about India’s bilateral air service agreements that cap the number of seats that can be deployed between countries. Indian authorities have said such pacts protect Indian airlines in the cutthroat market. India was the largest source of passengers for DXB in 2025, with 11.9 million travellers passing through the hub. The Dubai caps will hit Indian airlines the hardest, according to April and May schedules data from Cirium. Air India and its budget carrier Air India Express have scheduled more than 750 flights into DXB in that period. IndiGo has 481, followed by Saudia and Gulf Air, which planned for 480 and 404, respectively. India’s SpiceJet had planned 61. The one-flight-per-day cap would mean 30 or 31 per month for each foreign airline, versus the hundreds of daily flights being flown by Emirates and flydubai according to Flightradar24 data.

Hormuz traffic remains slow despite ceasefire

PARIS: Just 10 vessels have passed through Strait of Hormuz since the Middle East war ceasefire took effect, according to maritime tracking data, amid lingering fears about using the strategic waterway. Iran and the US said the 167km strait between the Gulf and the Indian Ocean would reopen after the two-week truce was announced on Wednesday. But statements by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Israel’s attacks on Lebanon despite the ceasefire have cast a shadow over the strait, which in normal times handles about a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas. More than five weeks after the war erupted with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, hundreds of ships with thousands of crew remain stuck either side of the strait. The International Energy Agency says the war has caused the most severe supply disruption ever to the global oil market. Key facts on shipping in the strait: Dire strait for tankers Just four tankers and six bulk carriers have passed through the strait from the start of the ceasefire up to Thursday, according to maritime data provider Kpler. Only one of those tankers, the “MSG”, is not Iranian. The Gabon-flagged ship went through Thursday with around 7,000 tonnes of Emirati fuel oil, and is headed to India, according to the MarineTraffic monitor. A dozen other vessels appeared to be on course to pass through the waterway, and all were either coming from or going to Iran, or displayed ties with countries not hostile to Iran. That signals little real change from traffic before the ceasefire. “The strait remains as open or closed as it was” before the ceasefire plan emerged, shipping journal Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade told a briefing. Traffic in the past week was “90% below normal levels and it was almost entirely being driven by Iranian trade,” said Bridget Diakun, a o Truce fails to restore confidence among global shipping operators

Shipowners remain cautious, with many unwilling to resume routes without coordination and security assurances. – AFPPIX

Lloyd’s List intelligence analyst. Traffic is expected to remain at a maximum 10-15 passages a day “if the ceasefire holds”, according to Kpler analyst Ana Subasic. Of the 315 passages by commodity carriers from March 1 to April 8, 202 were by oil and gas tankers, and most were heading east towards the Gulf of Oman, Kpler data showed. A majority involved ships coming from or heading to Iran. Iran-approved route Iran announced alternative routes through the strait on Thursday, citing the risk of sea mines in the waterway’s main zone. The IRGC set out routes that go near Iran’s Larak Island. The IRGC said ships could only use the strait in collaboration with the Iranian navy, according to intelligence firm Vanguard Tech. Apart from three Omani tankers that passed through last week near Oman’s coast, recent transits have used the Iranian-approved route, with some ships reportedly paying a fee. The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Iran could ask for one dollar per barrel of oil passing through the strait, to be paid in cryptocurrency. Shipping industry representatives told AFP that other rumours indicated ships had to be on an approved list, or that countries would be ranked, with ships from countries friendly to Iran receiving better conditions.

800 ships stuck Many shipowners and shipping associations are unsure whether ships would be able to safely pass from the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, even if the ceasefire holds. Leaving the Gulf now “would not be advisable” without coordinating with the US and Iran, Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer for the international shipping association BIMCO told AFP on Wednesday. Around 800 ships have been stuck in the Gulf since the war started on Feb 28, according to Lloyd’s List . German shipping giant Hapag Lloyd has said it will not resume traffic on the route. Some 172 million barrels of crude and refined products on 187 tankers were at sea in the region as of Tuesday, according to Kpler. Thirty vessels targeted No new attacks on ships have been reported since the ceasefire started. The IRGC claimed three attacks on ships between Saturday and Tuesday, and one has been confirmed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Thirty commercial ships, including 13 tankers, have been attacked or have reported incidents in the region since March 1, according to the IMO, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre and Vanguard Tech.

Education retains its importance in the Malaysian landscape for parents, students and stakeholders. The changes are fast paced with new developments in new fields of study such as cybersecurity, data protection, augmented and virtual reality, machine learning in education, digital education and artificial Intelligence. Leading the way are universities, who are invited to showcase their latest programmes, curriculum and content in our Education Focus for 2026.

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