British Airways has delayed resuming flights to Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv by a month to August 1, the carrier’s website showed on Tuesday.

The US-Israeli conflict against Iran has pushed a score of carriers to cancel flights to and from the region since the conflict began in late February.

“Due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, we have made further changes to our flying schedule to provide greater clarity for our customers,” a spokesperson for British Airways said in an emailed statement.

The long-haul airline, owned by IAG plans to reduce flights to the Middle East when services resume, while permanently dropping Jeddah as a destination, it had said in April.

The carrier also plans to reduce services to Dubai, Doha, Riyadh and Tel Aviv to one daily flight.

“We’re keeping the situation under constant review and are directly in touch with affected customers to offer them a range of options,” the spokesperson said.

Riyadh Air said on Tuesday it has opened public ticket sales for flights between Riyadh and London Heathrow ahead of the introduction of its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on the route from July 1.

The Saudi carrier said tickets are now available through its website, mobile application and travel partners for the daily service between Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and London Heathrow Terminal 4.

The airline said the Riyadh-London route will transition fully to its new Boeing 787-9 fleet from July 1, replacing interim operations that had been conducted using a technical spare aircraft named “Jamila” since October 2025 as part of its operational readiness programme.

A key milestone for the Saudi national carrier

CEO Tony Douglas said the launch marked a milestone for the airline as it introduced its new aircraft and onboard product on what it described as a key international route linking Saudi Arabia and the UK.

Riyadh Air said the service forms part of its broader expansion strategy under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 programme, which aims to boost tourism, trade and connectivity.

The carrier will operate daily flights departing Riyadh at 02.35 am local time and arriving in London at 07.30 am. Return flights will depart London at 09.35 am and arrive in Riyadh at 18.05 pm local time.

The airline said additional destinations across its network would be announced in the coming months.

Four-class cabin configuration on the new aircraft

Riyadh Air’s Boeing 787-9 aircraft will feature a four-class cabin configuration comprising Business Elite, Business, Premium Economy and Economy classes.

The company said all seats would include Bluetooth audio connectivity and USB charging ports, while its in-flight entertainment system would offer content from partners including Disney+, HBO Max and Shahid.

The carrier is also promoting its loyalty programme, Sfeer, which offers benefits including complimentary onboard Wi-Fi and reward accrual from a passenger’s first flight.

Saudi Arabia has been investing heavily in aviation and tourism infrastructure as part of efforts to diversify its economy away from oil, with Riyadh Air expected to play a central role in turning Riyadh into a major global aviation hub under Vision 2030.

Microsoft’s biggest data center in India is on track to open by mid-2026, its country head said on Tuesday, as the tech giant spends heavily to bolster its position in one of the world’s largest markets for artificial intelligence services.

There’s “massive demand” for Azure cloud services and the $30-a-month Copilot 365 AI assistant in the country, Puneet Chandok, president, Microsoft India and South Asia, told Reuters.

Like rivals Alphabet and Amazon, Microsoft sees India as a potentially profitable market for AI thanks to its more than 1 billion internet users and deep tech talent.

Read more-Dubai’s du announces Dhs2bn hyperscale data centre deal with Microsoft

Tapping that market is crucial as it looks to prove to investors that its massive bet on AI will pay off.

The company announced late last year that it would invest $17.5bn in India, its biggest outlay in Asia, on top of the $3bn pledged at the start of 2025. That includes a new data center in the southern tech hub of Hyderabad, where Microsoft already has a significant presence.

“We are the ones who are bringing this to life quickly, the fastest out of the gates,” Chandok said of the company’s data center build-out, adding that the Hyderabad facility would be its biggest in India without disclosing exact capacity.

The increasing capacity would be used to serve its growing customer base for Copilot in India, including IT giants such as Infosys, Cognizant and Tata Consultancy Services – all of which have about 50,000 licenses each.

Chandok also said that several of the AI features Microsoft is rolling out are being developed in India, where the company employs more than 22,000 people across cities.

Hiring staff to develop the features is getting tougher as demand exceeds supply, causing a “war for talent,” Chandok said.

“The challenges in India are the same as everywhere else in the world.”

Senior UAE and Indian ministers, diplomats and business leaders gathered in Dubai on Monday evening as both nations reaffirmed efforts to expand bilateral trade to $200bn under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) framework.

The high-level gathering, organised by the UAE India Business Council – UAE Chapter (UIBC-UC), brought together key stakeholders from government, trade, investment and industry under the theme “Strength in Resilience”, reflecting the growing strategic depth of the UAE-India economic partnership.

Held against the backdrop of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE last week, discussions centred on accelerating trade, investment and cross-border collaboration as both countries deepen cooperation across sectors ranging from infrastructure and logistics to tourism, retail and education.

The event was attended by His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, as chief guest, alongside His Excellency Dr. Deepak Mittal, Ambassador of India to the UAE, and His Excellency Satish Kumar Sivan, Consul General of India to Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

In his remarks, Satish Kumar Sivan highlighted the “unprecedented momentum” generated through CEPA and stressed the importance of sustained public-private collaboration in unlocking the next phase of bilateral growth.

Meanwhile, Deepak Mittal underscored the strategic alignment between the UAE and India across economic priorities, global connectivity and future-focused industries, while also positioning Africa as a major frontier for joint investment activity between the two countries.

A keynote fireside chat featuring Al Zeyoudi, moderated by Business Today editor Siddharth Zarabi, explored the UAE’s emergence as a major global trade and investment gateway amid shifting international economic dynamics. During the discussion, Al Zeyoudi highlighted the role the council is expected to play in helping achieve the revised CEPA bilateral trade target of $200bn.

The evening also marked a leadership transition within the council, with Nilesh Ved assuming the role of chair and Adeeb Ahamed becoming co-chair. The pair succeed outgoing chair Faizal Kottikollon and outgoing co-chair Rizwan Soomar.

Reflecting on the transition, Kottikollon said: “The UAE-India partnership stands today as one of the world’s most dynamic bilateral relationships. It has been a privilege to contribute to strengthening this platform for dialogue, collaboration, and shared growth.”

Ved said the council would continue supporting investment and innovation partnerships between the two countries.

“As the UAE and India deepen their strategic and economic ties, UIBC-UC will continue to serve as a bridge for innovation, investment, and next-generation partnerships that create long-term value for both nations,” he said.

The council also unveiled a series of strategic research initiatives aimed at strengthening dialogue and investment collaboration between the UAE and India. These included reports on tourism, consumer and retail trends, education-led development and joint UAE-India investment opportunities across Africa’s infrastructure, logistics, digital and sustainability sectors.

In addition, the organisation announced plans to launch a Business Continuity and Investment Thesis paper examining the UAE’s resilience, long-term investment attractiveness and competitiveness amid shifting global economic conditions.

The highly anticipated Audemars Piguet x Swatch “Royal Pop” collection is now officially available to purchase online in the UAE, days after launch events at Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates were abruptly cancelled due to safety concerns.

The colourful collaboration between Audemars Piguet and Swatch has quickly become one of the year’s most talked-about luxury releases, sparking long queues, resale speculation and social media frenzy across multiple global cities.

In the UAE, the watches are currently available via local e-commerce platforms, including Noon Minutes, allowing buyers to receive the product within minutes. However, demand has pushed prices sharply higher in the resale market.

While the official retail price of the collection is estimated to range between roughly Dhs1,100 and Dhs1,850 ($300 to $500), some UAE-based resellers are already listing the watches online for between Dhs19,999 and Dhs25,000, according to reports. On Noon Minutes, the watches are selling for Dhs12,500.

The launch of the eight rainbow-themed pocket watches was originally scheduled for May 16 at Swatch stores in Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates. However, the release was cancelled shortly before the launch, frustrating thousands of fans who had queued overnight in some cases.

“In view of public safety considerations, we have decided not to proceed with the sale of the product at Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates, and the event has been cancelled,” a social media notice from the brand stated.

Dubai was not alone in experiencing disruptions. Similar launch cancellations and crowd-control issues were also reported in cities including Mumbai, Delhi and several locations across the UK, highlighting the scale of global demand for the release.

The “Royal Pop” collection merges the iconic Royal Oak aesthetic from Audemars Piguet with Swatch’s modular POP watch concept from the 1980s, resulting in a collection of retro-inspired pocket watches available in eight colourways.

Each model features Swatch’s Swiss-made hand-wound SISTEM51 movement and comes in either Lépine or Savonnette styles. Buyers can also customise the watches with interchangeable lanyards sold separately for Dhs190 each.

Among the colour options currently circulating online are Green Eight, Blaue Acht, Otto Rosso, Oranji Hachi and Ocho Negro.

The surge in resale prices reflects the growing influence of hype culture within luxury and streetwear markets, where scarcity, celebrity endorsements and viral social media attention can rapidly elevate relatively accessible products into high-demand collector’s items.

The phenomenon mirrors the success of previous Swatch collaborations, particularly the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch launch, which also triggered global queues and inflated secondary market pricing. However, analysts and collectors suggest the Audemars Piguet partnership has generated even stronger interest due to the cult-like status of the Royal Oak within watch collecting circles.

For now, the AP x Swatch “Royal Pop” occupies a unique position in the luxury market: officially an accessible timepiece, but unofficially a high-priced status symbol commanding premiums more commonly associated with traditional high-end Swiss watches.