Non-Rev Travel Guide: 74+ Ways To Get Between The Middle East And The U.S., Canada And Mexico

Non-Rev Travel Guides For: Asia | Europe | Hawaii

With United just launching their new flight to Dubai from Newark, more of you will now be going to The Middle East. As such, you will need alternate ways to get back home to North America.

U.S. and Canadian Airlines Serving The Middle East

Air Canada (AC)

Doha, Qatar (DOH)
Dubai, UAE (DOH)
Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV)

American Airlines (AA)

Doha, Qatar (DOH)
Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV)

Delta Air Lines (DL)

Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV)

United Airlines (UA)

Amman, Jordan (AMM)
Dubai, UAE (DXB)
Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV)

Dubai Airport Hotels

Typically, when you get bumped, it’s 24 hours later before you can try that flight again, if you have a daily flight choice, but if you’re clever, you could be home by then. If you need to sort out a hotel in say Dubai, check this map below. The train runs right to the airport, so you don’t have to stay at the airport itself. You can stay in the city, especially since you may have to wait 24 hours for your next flight.

I’ve compiled a comprehensive Guide on how to make it home to North America from The Middle East by looking at the airlines serving the U.S., Canada and Mexico from the different Middle Eastern airports.

You may have to be quite creative and sometimes you may have to buy a ticket if your airline don’t have an agreement. If you decide to buy a ticket, start at https://www.google.com/flights and then book directly with the airline to avoid any issues. You can use an online travel agent like Expedia as well in case you have to do multiple airlines.

The dominant carrier in Dubai is Emirates (EK), it’s their home. They fly to almost everywhere from Dubai. The other home airline to the Emirates is Etihad (EY) which is based in Abu Dhabi (AUH) which is 90 miles across the desert. There are buses from Dubai that will take you there.

Also, if you purchase a ticket on Etihad from Dubai to your destination, it will include a shuttle bus ride from Dubai to the airport in Abu Dhabi, then you can get on your flight.

If you get bumped, your goal is to get to Europe first if you can’t get on a nonstop flight across the Atlantic. At least in Europe you have more options to get on your own carrier and cross the Atlantic. I also have a rule that I don’t second guess my decision and I never go back and look to see if I would have gotten on the flight. I suggest you do the same.

You may even have to think about heading to Asia and then connecting back to North America. I have a list of connections here.

The Airport Schedules page is very useful for figuring out routings.

Note that some of these flights are not daily and you have to ensure you have an agreement with the airlines in order to fly space available. Also, depending on the agreement, you’ll have to get a ticket before you leave the U.S. So plan ahead for alternate routings.

Use the flight schedule program to the right of this post to help you with routings.

Middle Eastern Cities with Nonstop Air Service To/From The U.S., Canada and Mexico

The following cities are major cities in the Middle East with nonstop air service to/from the U.S., Canada or Mexico across the Atlantic Ocean and the airlines which serve them.

Note that you can always connect via Europe as there are several nonstops from the Middle East to Europe and then onwards to the U.S. and Canada or Mexico:

Israel

Tel Aviv (TLV)
- Atlanta, GA (ATL) on Delta Air Lines (DL)
- Boston, MA (BOS) on Delta Air Lines (DL) and El Al (LY)
- Chicago, IL (ORD) on United Airlines (UA)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on El Al (LY)
- Miami, FL (MIA) on American Airlines (AA) and El Al (LY)
- Montreal, QC Canada (YUL – Trudeau) on Air Canada (AC)
- New York-JFK, NY (JFK) on American Airlines (AA), Delta Air Lines (DL) and El Al (LY)
- Newark-Liberty, NJ (EWR) on El Al (LY) and United Airlines (UA)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) on United Airlines (UA)
- Toronto, ON Canada (YYZ) on Air Canada (AC)
- Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD) on United Airlines (UA)

Haifa, Israel – The Bahai Gardens

Jordan

Amman, Jordan (AMM)
- Chicago-O’Hare, IL (ORD) on Royal Jordanian (RJ)
- Detroit, MI (DTW) on Royal Jordanian (RJ)
- Montreal, QC Canada (YUL – Trudeau) on Royal Jordanian (RJ)
- Montreal, QC Canada (YUL – Trudeau) via Toronto, ON Canada (YYZ) on Royal Jordanian (RJ)
- New York-JFK, NY (JFK) on Royal Jordanian (RJ)
- Washington, DC Dulles (IAD) on United Airlines (UA)

Amman, Jordan

Kuwait

Kuwait City, Kuwait (KWI)
- New York-JFK (JFK) on Kuwait Airlines (KU)

Kuwait City, Kuwait

Qatar

Doha (DOH)
- Atlanta, GA (ATL) on Qatar (QR)
- Boston, MA (BOS) on Qatar (QR)
- Chicago-O’Hare, IL (ORD) on Qatar (QR)
- Dallas-DFW, TX (DFW) on Qatar (QR)
- Houston-Intercontinental, TX (IAH) on Qatar (QR)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on Qatar (QR)
- Miami, FL (DFW) on Qatar (QR)
- Montreal, QC Canada (YUL – Trudeau) on Qatar (QR)
- New York-JFK, NY (JFK) on American Airlines (AA) and Qatar (QR)
- Philadelphia, PA (PHL) on Qatar (QR)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) on Qatar (QR)
- Seattle, WA (SEA) on Qatar (QR)
- Toronto, On Canada (YYZ) on Air Canada (AC)
- Washington-Dulles, DC (IAD) on Qatar (QR)

Doha Airport, Doha Qatar (DOH)

Saudia Arabia

Jeddah (JED)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on Saudia (SV)
- New York-JFK, NY (JFK) on Saudia (SV)
- Newark-Liberty, NJ (EWR) on Saudia (SV)
- Washington, DC Dulles (IAD) on Saudia (SV)
Riyadh (RUH)
- New York-JFK, NY (JFK) on Saudia (SV)
- Washington, DC Dulles (IAD) on Saudia (SV)

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Turkey

Istanbul (IST)
- Atlanta, GA (ATL) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Boston, MA (BOS) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Cancun, Mexico (CUN) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Chicago, IL (ORD) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Houston-Intercontinental, TX (IAH) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Mexico City, Mexico (MEX) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Mexico City, Mexico (MEX) via Cancun, Mexico (CUN) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Miami, FL (MIA) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Montreal, QC Canada (YUL – Trudeau) on on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- New York-JFK, NY (JFK) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Newark, NJ (EWR) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Seattle, WA (SEA) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Toronto, ON Canada (YYZ) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Vancouver, BC Canada (YYZ) on Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) on Turkish Airlines (TK)

Haga Sofia Istanbul, Turkey

United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi (AUH)
- Chicago-O’Hare, IL (ORD) on Etihad (EY)
- New York-JFK, NY (JFK) on Etihad (EY)
- Toronto, ON Canada (YYZ) on Etihad (EY)
- Washington-Dulles, DC (IAD) on Etihad (EY)
Dubai (DXB)
- Boston, MA (BOS) on Emirates (EK)
- Chicago-O’Hare, IL (ORD) on Emirates (EK)
- Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) on Emirates (EK)
- Houston-Intercontinental, TX (IAH) on Emirates (EK)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on Emirates (EK)
- Mexico City, Mexico (MEX) via Barcelona, Spain (BCN) on Emirates (EK)
- New York-JFK, NY (JFK) on Emirates (EK)
- New York-JFK, NY (JFK) via Milan, Italy (MXP) on Emirates (EK)
- Newark-Liberty, NJ (EWR) via Athens, Greece (ATH) on Emirates (EK)
- Newark-Liberty, NJ (EWR) on United Airlines (UA)
- Orlando, FL (MCO) on Emirates (EK)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO) on Emirates (EK)
- Seattle, WA (SEA) on Emirates (EK)
- Toronto, ON Canada (YYZ) on Air Canada (AC) and Emirates (EK)
- Washington-Dukkes, DC (IAD) on Emirates (EK)

Dubai Eye, Dubai United Arab Emirates

In addition to these nonstops to the U.S. from the Middle East, you can also fly to the European hubs where your airline ha seats available and then fly home. You can find a list of these European routes here.

In addition, you may even fly to Asia and then fly home as the Middle East has lots of connections to Asia. You can find a list of the flights from Asia to North America here.

Additional Information

Currency

You can use ATMs where available or if you have a credit card that does not charge you for foreign transaction fees you can use that. Here is a list of the currencies by country:

Israel – New Israel Shekel (NIS)
Jordan – Jordanian Dinar (JOD)
Kuwait – Kuwaiti Dinar (KWD)
Qatar – Qatari Riyal (QAR)
Saudi Arabia – Saudi Riyal (SAR)
Turkey – Turkish lira (TRY)
United Arab Emirates – United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED)

Language

English is widely spoken in the Middle East. Here is a list of the main language for these countries:

Israel – Hebrew
Jordan – Arabic
Kuwait – Arabic
Qatar – Arabic
Saudi Arabia – Arabic
Turkey – Turkish
United Arab Emirates – Arabic

Visa Information

As a U.S. citizen, a visa or some kind of permit may be required to visit or transit these countries. Also, ensure that you have a passport that is valid for at least 6 months and has at least two blank pages. The U.S. State Department has excellent information.

Citizens of other countries should check with their consulates for visa and health requirements. Use this link to check visa requirements.

Hotels

Most of the airports will have hotels available either at the airport itself or close by. Check the shuttle hours as well.

Start your search with our partner HotelsCombined by using the search box below. If you don’t like this partner, then you can try Booking.com or Agoda as well:

Transportation

If you are going between countries, then you can do low cost carriers or the major carriers as they do have flights between the countries. Within countries, there are buses you can take.

Things To Do

In case you have to overnight somewhere in order to make an early connection. I have some links below to help for a few of the cities that I’ve visited.