UA on Wednesday said it will cancel flight service between IAD - DXB starting in late January, meaning no U.S. passenger carrier will fly direct to the Gulf states.

The move comes after the U.S. government awarded a government contract for travel on the route in 2016 to rival JetBlue Airways and its codeshare partner Emirates, which will operate the IAD- DXB flights, parent United Continental Holdings said in an Internet posting.
Dubai-based Emirates will carry an estimated 15,000 U.S. government employees, United said, adding, "We formally protested this decision but were ultimately unsuccessful."


IST - DXB Under 5 hrs...