A news article is making its way around the internet today about airlines like British Airways and Lufthansa no longer flying in and out of Kuwait. The article put the blame on a few things, including outdated terminals and substandard passenger services, two of the main reasons I try not to fly out of the old airport terminal.
But, what caught my attention is the article mentions that 14 airlines have now stopped flying to Kuwait without mentioning what those airlines are. What 14 airlines? The only ones I can think of are:
British Airways
Fly Arna
KLM
Lufthansa
United Airlines
Wizz Air
What are the others? Also, United for example stopped flying to Kuwait years ago, so I’m assuming they’re not even counting that.
20 replies on “14 Airlines Stop Flying to Kuwait”
In the article I read the below names were mentioned: British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Delta Airlines, United Airways, Cathay Pacific, Cebu Pacific Air, Philippine Airlines, Air France, Swiss Air, Royal Brunei airlines and Korean Air Lines.
Have a link?
https://www.indiansinkuwait.com/news/Kuwait-Airport-faces-setback-as-14-Airlines-exit-amid-regional-aviation-boom/
https://www.indiansinkuwait.com/news/Kuwait-Airport-faces-setback-as-14-Airlines-exit-amid-regional-aviation-boom
Not sure of their source, as arabtimes, kuwait times etc haven’t mentioned the names of airlines.
Check this
https://www.alraimedia.com/article/1725701/
So who all is going to be flying into that new airport they’re building?
I think the new terminal might give airlines a reason to fly back to kuwait
European airlines leaving Kuwait has, also, to be connected with declining number of European expatriates and visitors.
Aegean Airlines used to fly to Kuwait as well not too far back.
I never thought about it until a few months ago when I wanted to fly KLM back to the US. Two years ago I flew direct on Qatar airways but hated it, as I started searching for KLM or other airlines I used to take back in the early 2000s I realized there are NO flights. I would have to fly to Dubai and take a plane from there. I saw this article and everything made more sense. How is tourism in Kuwait supported now with only a few international airlines remaining?
You make it sound like tourism is huge here and all the traffic came in through KLM or British Ajrways. This affects residents more than it does tourists.
Some of them were stoped before 2019, like Korea Air, Cebu Pacific airlines and Singapore airlines due to high operation cost.
I remember a news article about how a flight attendant from one of the European airlines was arrested at Kuwait Airport for being drunk. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the government or some other entity was bothering the airlines about this kind of thing.
Chiming in on this…
It’s hard to ignore the harsh contrast between the aviation scenes across the Gulf states and the sobering headlines about Kuwait; while our neighbors are breaking records and rolling out next-generation facilities, Kuwait seems stuck in limbo.
The reality is that our travel infrastructure is long overdue for an overhaul. The current airport has been bursting at the seams for years and while Terminal 2 has long promised to be a game-changer, it’s still a work-in-progress that’s at least a 1.5 years out from completion… if we’re lucky. Public transportation is virtually non-existent, and the road network, which is finally seeing upgrades after years of neglect, is under patchwork repair that sees roads all over the country shutting down.
Tourism promotion is another missed opportunity; Kuwait has yet to define a coherent identity or brand as a destination, and we’ve repeatedly skipped key platforms like the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai. Compare that to how Riyadh, Abu Dhabi or even Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah are positioning themselves, and it only highlights how far behind we are – or how little we’re trying.
Kuwait Airways, which should be at the forefront of opening up the country, hasn’t been able to keep pace. Many of its routes are seasonal or short-lived, and its growth strategy feels lazy and scatterbrained at best. Meanwhile, the visa landscape remains one of the most off-putting in the region: bureaucratic, restrictive and archaic with its “approved professions” list and confusing visa-on-arrival process, which only reinforces Kuwait’s image as an unwelcoming or difficult destination – something you also see in international headlines on a recurring basis.
All this to say, I like to think that there are signs of a long-overdue reset. Major infrastructure projects like T2, the mass road renovations and digitization efforts are finally gaining steam, but it feels like we’re in full cleanup-and-catchup mode while the region sprints ahead. If Kuwait wants to reverse the aviation exodus and reimagine itself as a meaningful travel hub, it needs a bold, joined-up strategy across the government and other sectors that goes far beyond surface-level PR and tackles access, infrastructure and perception head-on. This isn’t a boring destination, or one without things to do. If I weren’t already a Kuwaiti living here, I’d visit for the food scene alone, and there are still cultural pockets that offer a kind of authenticity many other Gulf cities are busy trying to recreate.
I really hope that it isn’t too late for this place to get it together; Kuwait has what it takes to make a positive name for itself, and it deserves to be much more than what it currently is.
Spot on, really do not understand how the locals do not realise kuwait has the best of the best when it comes to food, people who have gone accross the globe when asked what do you miss about kuwait, the first thing mentioned is food. now if that is not one of the greatest attraction for tourists apart from the cultural and historical sites to visit, im not sure what is
And we have this news as well:
https://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/kuwait-becomes-a-key-hub-for-cultural-and-luxury-tourism-in-the-middle-east/
It must have been ages ago (if at all) that Cathay, Singapore Airlines and Korean Airlines called at Kwt International.
yeah like how far back we going in time?
Kuwait is not a major transit hub like Dubai, Doha, or Jeddah, and it has relatively low travel demand. Most travelers to Kuwait are either residents or expatriate workers. Meanwhile, local carriers like Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways have recently expanded their fleets and added new routes, capturing a larger share of the market. This has impacted the viability of operations for some international airlines such as KLM, British Airways, and Lufthansa. Additional factors include Kuwait’s weak airport infrastructure and a lack of proactive policies by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in granting operating licenses—ITA Airways being a recent example.
Even with Indian legacy carriers- Vistara (before the merger) and Air India, Kuwait was not on the route map for over a decade. I feel badly for the large Indian diaspora in Kuwait who deserve far better and suffer having no choice other than flying KU which is the only supposed legacy carrier serving Kuwait and India today.