Jazeera Airways (J9, Kuwait) has restarted Umrah charters to Saudi Arabia, bypassing Kuwait, whose airspace remains closed due to the ongoing war in Iran. Services between Saudi and Russia, normally operated via Kuwait, relaunched as direct flights on March 3, 2026.

As first reported by independent analyst Brendan Sobie, the Kuwait low-cost carrier is utilising A320 family aircraft which were stranded outside Kuwait when the airspace closed on February 28.

A320-200 9K-CAT (msn 4714), and A320-200Ns 9K-CBF (msn 10201) and 9K-CBK (msn 10934) are currently operating charters from Jeddah International and Madinah to Russia. Another A320-200, 9K-CAR (msn 4735), remains parked at Jeddah.

Meanwhile, Kuwait Airways reactivated B777-300ER 9K-AOC (msn 62561), the first aircraft since the war started to operate a repatriation charter from London Heathrow to Dammam.

Kuwaiti airspace, alongside that of Bahrain and Qatar, remains closed to all civilian air operations. Following the partial reopening of United Arab Emirates' airspace, Etihad Airways joined Emirates and relaunched some commercial operations with bookings open for new customers.