Partial flight resumptions restore some gold flows from key hub Dubai

Partial flight resumptions from Dubai are helping to restore gold flows, but demand in India remains weak.

The resumption of some flights from Dubai has allowed ​gold flows from this major global trading ‌hub to partially resume this week, ​three sources familiar with the ⁠matter told Reuters on Friday (March 13, 2026).

Deliveries of physical gold to and from Dubai — a ‌major hub supplying Switzerland, Hong Kong and India — have been affected since ‌the start of the U.S.–Israeli ‌war ⁠on Iran on February 28, which ⁠triggered widespread passenger flight cancellations across West Asia.

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The traffic remains constrained, but some of ​the deliveries have restarted, ‌one of the sources said. He declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to ‌media.

Gold travels by plane due ​to security and insurance issues owing to its high value-to-weight ratio. ⁠Tracking data on FlightRadar24 showed Dubai flights at 37% of the usual ‌traffic as of Thursday (March 12).

Reduced flight traffic is increasing insurance and ground transportation costs for bullion deliveries, another source said.