You might be qualified for the job, but do people actually like hanging out with you?
That’s a question United Airlines is interested in when assessing new hires — and uses a unique tactic in order to answer it.
Scott Kirby, United Airlines CEO, told McKinsey chief Bob Sternfels in an interview published in early April that he started a new process at the company aimed at evaluating if a candidate is a good cultural fit.
Kirby said he asked the head of flight operations to identify a dozen pilots who are “well-liked by everyone.” When candidates come in for interviews, those popular pilots will hang out with them — walk them around the building, have lunch with them, and escort them to interviews.
“I told this group of pilots, ‘Your job is just to assess: Is this interviewee someone I would like to take a four-day trip with? And if you say no, then they’re out. You get a veto vote,'” Kirby said. “The idea is to pick people who care about others, who you want to hang out with, who you want to be with.”
A spokesperson for United told Business Insider that practice is one part of a larger process for hiring pilots that includes “the rigorous standards set by United and the FAA.”
Assessing for culture fit is common in hiring, but the stakes could be especially high when it comes to flight crews who can spend days at a time working together on consecutive flights.
Jobs at United Airlines can also be competitive. Kirby said in the interview with McKinsey that when United lists openings for 2,000 to 3,000 flight attendant roles, the company can receive 75,000 applications in a couple of hours.
“So for us, the question is: How do you find people who have the right mentality and customer service attitude?” he said. “We can train them to do the jobs, but how do you build a process to pick the right people and keep them excited?”
As of December 2025, United Airlines had around 113,200 employees, according to company financials, after several years of head count growth.
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Several airlines are suspending flight routes to destinations in the Middle East well in advance.
British Airways cut flights to Abu Dhabi until later this year and others until later this month.
While some airlines are canceling routes, others are operating at a more limited capacity.
The travel fallout from the war in Iran continues, with several airlines canceling flights to the Middle East weeks in advance or more.
Thousands of flights were canceled across the region following the US-Israel attack on Iran on February 28 and subsequent retaliatory strikes. While some flights have resumed and many travelers who got stranded in places like Abu Dhabi and Doha have made it out, the travel disruptions are ongoing.
Industry experts previously told Business Insider that the lasting impacts on tourism and global travel will likely depend on how long the war lasts, as well as how it ends. Canceled flights to Dubai International Airport, which serves as a common connector for routes between Europe, Asia, and Africa, could especially have a ripple effect.
While some airlines are canceling routes altogether, others are continuing to operate but in a more limited capacity. Some airlines have also added repatriation flights to help stranded travelers get home.
Here are the airlines that have suspended services to some destinations in the Middle East.
British Airways
British Airways said Tuesday it was canceling flights to Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, and Tel Aviv until later this month, and to and from Abu Dhabi until later this year.
It’s unclear when the flights will resume. Flights from London to Abu Dhabi appeared to be bookable on the airline’s website starting April 16.
British Airways also said it had limited seats remaining on its repatriation flights from Oman to London on March 11 and 12 for customers with existing bookings.
“Following these dates, the flights will pause due to reduced demand but will be kept under continuous review,” the airline said.
An update for our customers – 10 March.
Be alert to potential scams and only rely on official British Airways channels for updates – never click suspicious links or share personal or payment details. pic.twitter.com/N0ec4GqFnk
Air Canada has canceled all flights to and from Dubai through March 28 and to Tel Aviv through May 2 due to the conflict.
“If you are in either of these regions, please do not head to the airport. Your safety is our top priority,” the airline said in a statement last week.
(1/2) Due to the military situation in the Middle East, we have now cancelled our Toronto-Tel Aviv flight until May 2, and Toronto-Dubai until at least March 28, both inclusive. We are monitoring the situation and will adjust our schedule accordingly.
Virgin Atlantic canceled its service to Dubai for the remainder of its usual season, or until March 28. The British airline, which typically only operates flights to Dubai seasonally, said in a statement that “the recent escalation in the Middle East has brought forward the end of our operation for this season.”
Virgin also said Sunday it was canceling its flights to Riyadh for the next two weeks.
Oman Air
Oman Air said Sunday it was canceling all flights to and from the following locations through March 15: Amman, Dubai, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Kuwait, Copenhagen, Baghdad, and Khasab.
The airline also said it was operating extra flights to and from Muscat during that time, including to London, Istanbul, Cairo, and other destinations in Europe and Asia.
⚠️ Dear valued guests,
Due to ongoing regional airspace closures, the following flights have been cancelled:
Monday, 9 March through Sunday, 15 March 2026:
All flights to and from Amman (AMM), Dubai (DXB), Bahrain (BAH), Doha (DOH), Dammam (DMM), Kuwait (KWI), Copenhagen… pic.twitter.com/eemDExKHXD
Oman Air continues to serve its network from Muscat. To support our guests, extra flights from/to Muscat will operate between 10–15 March to the following destinations: 📍 London Heathrow 📍 Istanbul 📍 Cairo 📍 Rome 📍 Frankfurt 📍 Kuala Lumpur 📍 Bangkok 📍 Munich 📍 Amsterdam… pic.twitter.com/db7QFXiEAB
Air France said Monday it was canceling flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh until March 12, and to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut until March 13.
Lufthansa
Lufthansa said this it was suspending flights to and from the following locations: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Dammam until March 15 and Tel Aviv until April 2.
Previously the airline said it was suspending flights to and from Amman and Erbil until March 15, Beirut until March 28, and Tehran until April 30.
Lufthansa said flights to and from Riyadh and Jeddah would continue.
Finnair
Finnair canceled all its flights to and from Doha and Dubai between February 28 and March 29.
It’s been a confusing six days since missile attacks across the Middle East stranded travelers and planes in airports across the world.
Things are still far from normal as of Wednesday, but some travelers are getting home.
There is a slow-growing recovery in the United Arab Emirates, which has partially opened its skies and designated “safe” corridors for rescue planes to use.
There are a lot of people to move: cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi host large expat populations and tourists, and their hubs usually handle tens of thousands of transit passengers a day.
Working with local officials, Emirates, Flydubai, IndiGo, and Etihad Airways were among the first airlines to depart the UAE with passengers, crews, and cargo. Over 100,000 people followed these aircraft live on the aviation tracking website Flightradar24.
Even as Iranian threats continue to disrupt flying — forcing diversions, holds, and U-turns — airlines are still transporting passengers to destinations across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Fortunately, Emirates and Etihad have big planes: many of their Airbus A380s, capable of carrying up to 615 passengers, have flown to cities such as London, Istanbul, Jeddah, Singapore, Paris, and Düsseldorf.
Although these flights don’t always take travelers all the way home, they offer a crucial escape from limbo — getting people into countries with open airspace and far more onward flight options.
Flightradar24 data shows several other carriers have joined the crowd: Air India, Air Arabia, Uzbekistan Airways, Kenya Airways, Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc, Saudi airline Flynas, Royal Jordanian, and India’s SpiceJet are all flying from Dubai to their respective hubs.
Passengers on a Kenya Airways rescue flight from Dubai arrive back home.
Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
European carriers, including Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines, Prague-based Smartwings, Aegean Air, and British Airways, are running special rescue flights from neighboring Muscat, Oman. Smartwings and Croatia Airlines are running select flights from Dubai.
Air France scheduled a repatriation flight from Dubai to Paris on Thursday evening, but suspended the plan shortly after the announcement due to “the ongoing security situation.”
Russian carriers Aeroflot and S7 Airlines have similarly departed with passengers, though their flights to Moscow are taking up to three hours longer because they have to fly the long way around closed airspace rather than fly directly over it.
Still, most airlines’ regular schedules to and from much of the Middle East remain suspended until at least the weekend, and they have asked passengers not to go to the airport unless they have been specifically notified.
No US airlines have sent rescue planes as of Thursday. Mark Dombroff, an aviation attorney with the law firm Fox Rothschild, told Business Insider that even if US carriers like United or American wanted to help, they legally can’t.
“The decision-making resides with the Federal Aviation Administration,” he said. “If the FAA says you can’t fly there as a US certificated carrier, that’s it. And in a sense, it’s no different than any other restricted airspace in this country, like Washington, DC.”
Some Americans have gotten home with the help of the State Department; it previously told those in over a dozen Middle Eastern countries to evacuate. The agency said it flew a charter flight to the US on Wednesday, and that more will be “surged across the region.”
It added that, as of Wednesday, “nearly 18,000 Americans have safely returned to the US,” including 7,300 helped by the State Department. It said thousands of others made it to Europe and Asia and are in transit back, and told those still stuck to get in touch for help by calling +1 (202) 501-4444 or filling out this form.
Some airlines remain effectively frozen. Qatar Airways has not flown a plane since Saturday due to Qatar’s airspace closure, leaving practically no options for those in Doha except to wait or drive hours to Saudi Arabia and fly out from there.
Flight options are still extremely limited
While some flights are better than none at all, special airline operations remain limited to certain routes and airports.
Flightradar24 data shows that Dubai International has seen just 100 takeoffs and landings since Saturday. Operations ramped up from Monday to Tuesday — but that was still less than 10% of the roughly 1,200 flights in and out on a usual day.
Rescue flights are largely restricted to the UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia: the skies over Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Qatar, and Bahrain remain closed.
An Emirates A380 ferried hundreds of stranded people back to Germany.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
Aviation analytics Cirium estimates there are normally about 900,000 daily seats to, from, and within the Middle East; it said about 4.4 million seats in and out of the Middle East have been canceled since Saturday.
While airlines are actively adding flights to the schedule — despite the on-and-off missile threats in the region — there are nowhere near enough rescue seats yet to accommodate the tens of thousands of stranded travelers. British Airways said on social media on Wednesday that the rescue flights it planned through Saturday are already full.
Some wealthy travelers have abandoned commercial flying altogether, instead paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to charter private jets. Flightradar24 data shows a number of business aircraft flying to and from Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE since Sunday.
Those with less deep pockets have chosen to travel by bus to Oman and Saudi Arabia, hoping to secure seats from airports still operating flights as normal.
But the drives are hourslong, and Oman Air warned Muscat-bound travelers crossing in from the UAE to arrive 12 hours early as traffic backs up for miles.
As much of the Middle East remains closed amid missile barrages, international airlines are being squeezed into a shrinking set of flight paths.
Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates remained closed or partially closed as of Monday, and the nearby Russian skies have been off limits to Western airlines since the Ukraine war broke out in 2022.
For most carriers, this extremely limits their options.
Flightradar24 shows flights are being funneled into narrow corridors around the Middle East, or forced into longer detours over Saudi Arabia and other regions — adding hours of flight time, higher fuel and labor costs, and operational complexity.
Among the most critical options is the Caucasus corridor north of Iran — including Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan — which links Europe and Asia and has been absorbing detoured traffic as carriers seek alternatives to disrupted Middle East routes.
The traffic over the Caucasus corridor on Monday evening Central European Time.
The Caucasus region offers not only the most efficient routing around now-closed airspace — it’s also the only option for many global carriers. To the north is Russia, which remains blocked to most Western airlines amid ongoing sanctions and reciprocal airspace restrictions.
Restrictions on Russian airspace have forced carriers like Finnair to add up to four extra hours between Helsinki and Tokyo, while British Airways has similarly extended flight times on routes to Asia.
The narrow corridor can be like threading a needle, spanning just 100 miles between Russia and Iran at its narrowest point, according to Google Maps. Without it, airlines unfriendly with Russia would be forced to take significantly longer, more costly detours via Saudi Arabia.
Iranian airspace closures have sent traffic north before
Although it is a narrow route, the Caucasus corridor has successfully accommodated increased traffic when carriers have relied on it during past conflict-driven airspace closures. This route also overflies Afghanistan and Pakistan.
According to the Civil Aviation Air Navigation Service Organization (CANSO), the global association of air traffic providers based in the Netherlands, Azerbaijan airspace handled 110 additional flights per day when Iran temporarily closed its airspace in June 2025.
The agency added that the region has seen an overall year-over-year increase in traffic as airspace around it flips on and off.
“Since 2022, Azerbaijan’s airspace has played a vital role in providing alternative and efficient air routes in response to regional geopolitical crises,” CANSO said, noting the country’s investments in advanced air traffic technologies.
The airspace on February 27, 2026, the day before the US and Israel attacked Iran. More planes overall were flying at that time and had access to far more airspace.
Flightradar24
Still, the influx of congestion over the Caucasus region could limit flexibility if weather restrictions arise. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the conflict could last “four to five weeks.”
If the conflict were to spread to the central Asian states that neighbor Iran to the north — which is very unlikely given the lack of US bases in Central Asia— it would effectively create a wall of unusable airspace.
Aviation leaders are emphasizing safety over these sensitive regions, especially after airports in Kuwait and the UAE were damaged during missile fire. On Monday, the director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walsh, called for airlines to refrain from targeting civilian airspace.
“We all hope for an early peaceful resolution to the current hostilities,” he said. “In the meantime, it is critical that states respect their obligation to keep civilians, and civil aviation free from harm.”
The comment comes after previous inadvertent attacks on civilian airliners: a Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down by Russia over eastern Ukraine in 2014, anda Ukraine International Airlines aircraft was shot down by Iran near Tehran in 2020.
Both were a result of heightened military alert and fear during tense conflicts.
Some bottlenecks extend beyond the Caucasus
Countries including Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Oman saw dozens of additional aircraft rerouted through their airspace shortly after the conflict began on Saturday, and they remain among the few regions still handling flights. Etihad Airways and Emirates operated a limited number of flights from the UAE on Monday.
Westbound flights are largely using a single corridor across western Saudi Arabia and then heading up toward Europe, likely because it’s farther from conflict zones.
Flightradar24 data from before the Saturday attacks shows more direct flight paths across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and the UAE, though some flights on Monday were again using UAE airspace.
One airline in particular faces a uniquely tricky routing challenge due to the Middle East’s abruptly shuttered airspace: Air India.
The airline hasn’t flown over Pakistan in nearly a year due to rising tensions, forcing it to detour across the UAE to reach Europe and North America.
An Air India flight from Bombay to New York on Monday stopped in Rome along the way.
Flightradar24
But, with most Gulf nations now closed, Flightradar24 shows it flying even further west across Oman and Saudi Arabia on these routes, often stopping in cities like Rome and Vienna along the way.
These are likely fuel stops, considering the now-longer flight paths. Air India made similar pit stops in April 2025 when tensions with Pakistan had previously arisen.
Flights are resuming on Monday
Eddy Pieniazek, head of Ishka Advisory, said in a Monday note that the mass disruptions across the Middle East are likely to be “short-lived” with a “gradual return of operations.”
He added how vital the Gulf region is, “particularly while Russian airspace remains restricted” and “while Africa currently lacks a comparable hub infrastructure.”
UAE airspace began partially opening up on Monday, with several Emirates and Etihad Airways flights departing from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to destinations in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Aircraft are flying over the UAE again as of Monday, as airlines slowly resume flights. It remains unclear how wide a resumption this will be.
Flightradar24
Both Emirates and Etihad Airways’ website still say all flights to and from their megahubs are suspended, but earlier Monday said a limited number will fly. These will get people home, transport cargo, and reposition aircraft.
To ease crowds, they asked passengers not to go to the airport unless they had been specifically notified.
