Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air said on Tuesday it will start operating its London and Paris flights in the afternoon following the announcement of the gradual reopening of European airspace.

The first flight GF 019 bound for Paris CDG will take off at 12 noon followed by London flight (GF 003) at 2.45pm, said a statement from the Gulf Air.

The return flight from London (flight GF006) will take off at 9.25pm, while the Paris flight for Bahrain will leave CDG airport at 6.55pm, it added.

The airline said it hoped to resume its normal operations to and from these stations from April 21 subject to the full and permanent opening of European airspace.
 
Gulf Air warned that changes might occur at very short notice and urged passengers to 'be patient and understanding.'

'We are making priorities to passengers stranded away from their home but inevitably, there will be delays, it added.
 
Gulf Air stated that only passengers who have confirmed tickets all the way to their final destination will be allowed to board the flight from their departing airport.
 
The airline asked the passengers to recheck their itineraries on 'my booking' and the 'flight status' on gulfair.com before coming to the airport.

'Over the next few days Gulf Air will be working hard to accommodate as many passengers as possible who have been unable to travel due to the unprecedented circumstances that have affected all airlines operating to and from northern Europe over the last five days,' the statement added.

Meanwhile, other Gulf carriers including Dubai's Emirates and UAE national airline Etihad were adopting a cautious approach and have not made any formal announcement.

Emirates said it planned to resume some European flights today but the situation remained uncertain. The airline said the situation was changing rapidly and urged passengers with confirmed booking to keep track of flight status 'which was being updated every 5 minutes.'

Etihad in its website said it had temporarily suspended its web check-in service to 'better manage the situation.'-TradeArabia News Service