If you were hoping to fly nonstop between Toronto and Dubai this winter, you'll need to keep waiting. Air Canada has pushed back the restart of its only United Arab Emirates service from January to March, citing the ongoing fallout from the Iran crisis. The 14-hour route was suspended earlier this year when the airline, like several others, pulled out of Middle East flying amid safety concerns for aircraft and crew and soft demand for the region.
For now, Emirates is the only airline flying between Canada and Dubai. The Gulf carrier has run its daily Toronto service with the Airbus A380 — a plane seating 489 passengers — more or less without interruption since 2007, pandemic included. It also serves Montréal and sweetens the deal for premium travellers with its chauffeur-driven car service in Toronto. Notably, Emirates and Air Canada have a joint codeshare, so single-ticket connections across both networks remain possible even while Air Canada's own metal is on the ground.
When the Toronto-Dubai route does return, expect Air Canada's usual setup: flight AC76 departing Toronto at 10:45 PM and landing in Dubai at 7:45 PM the next day, with AC77 leaving Dubai at 2:00 AM. A Boeing 787-9 will work the rotation, seating 298 passengers across three cabins — 30 in Business, 21 in Premium Economy and 247 in Economy. Air Canada leans on connecting traffic from its domestic network as well as point-to-point demand, but going up against a daily A380 with a Dreamliner is a tough sell on a route where Emirates has deep loyalty.
There's movement elsewhere in Air Canada's Middle East network, too. Tel Aviv returns first: Toronto flights resume on November 30, earlier than originally planned, with Montréal following on January 18. Air Canada is currently the only carrier with nonstops between Canada and Israel, since EL AL dropped Toronto back in 2022. Elsewhere, Royal Jordanian links Amman and Montréal with up to four weekly 787 flights in peak season, and Etihad is joining the Canada market with nonstop Abu Dhabi-Calgary service from November 3.
Why does this matter for travellers? Bookers with March-onwards plans to Dubai on Air Canada are fine as long as the timetable holds — but the source itself notes plans could shift again with the security situation. Anyone needing to reach Dubai before then should look at Emirates, which offers the only nonstop, or connect through European hubs. Travellers with Aeroplan points should also watch how the codeshare with Emirates is priced once Air Canada returns. And with Etihad landing in Calgary and Tel Aviv routes restarting, Canada-Middle East options are quietly rebuilding after a lean year — just book with flexibility in mind.
