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Global airlines are hastily canceling and rerouting services in the Middle East following the recent US-Israeli military strikes on Iranian targets. Several countries in the region — including Bahrain, Jordan Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Qatar and the UAE — have shut their airspaces, leaving airports in the region temporarily crippled.
This has not only impacted flights to and from the Middle East, but also long-haul services that need to overfly the region. As a result, scores of airlines have made immediate changes to their schedules, including suspending many flights for the foreseeable future.
Airlines Suspend Middle East Services
At around 6:45 AM UTC today, Israel announced it had conducted “pre-emptive” strikes on Iran, with both countries immediately closing their airspaces. The US then confirmed its involvement in the strikes as countries in the region began to shut down their airspace to all traffic. The UAE was the most recent country to announce the closure of its airspace, and the situation remains highly dynamic. Looking at data from Flightradar24, the skies above Iran are completely empty. As per data from aviation analytics company Cirium, there have already been over 200 inbound flights to the Middle East canceled, and the number will steadily rise in the hours ahead.
|
Destination Country |
Flights Scheduled |
Cancelled |
Cancel % |
|---|---|---|---|
|
United Arab Emirates |
1,067 |
94 |
8.81% |
|
Israel |
107 |
40 |
37.38% |
|
Qatar |
335 |
34 |
10.15% |
|
Saudi Arabia |
1,277 |
28 |
2.19% |
|
Jordan |
105 |
14 |
13.33% |
|
Iran |
307 |
9 |
2.61% |
|
Bahrain |
102 |
9 |
8.82% |
|
Oman |
122 |
5 |
4.10% |
|
Total |
3,422 |
232 |
6.78% |
*Data as of 12:00 PM CET
There are also reports of multiple flights having to turn back to their departure airports, leading to several lengthy “flight to nowhere” situations — this includes an American Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Doha, which turned back more than six hours after departure, and an Air Canada service from Toronto to Dubai that will spend more than 10 hours in the air. Several airlines have already announced cancellations extending into next month, including Air France, British Airways, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines and Wizz Air, which have suspended their flights to the region. Middle Eastern airlines Emirates, Etihad, flydubai and Qatar Airways have all warned of significant disruption to their networks, although many of their flights will continue.
Airports Grind To A Halt
Major airports in the region have also been heavily impacted, including 
Dubai International Airport (DXB) — which is not currently permitting any takeoffs or landings — as well as the home bases of fellow ME3 carriers Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. Data from FlightAware shows several Middle East airports leading in cancellations and delays, with DXB — one of the busiest airports in the world — at the top.
There have been over 280 inbound and outbound flights canceled at Dubai alone, along with another 250 delayed flights. Other airports experiencing significant operational disruption include Abu Dhabi (AUH), Tel Aviv (TLV), Jeddah (JED), Hamad International (DOH) and Kuwait (KWI).
As it stands, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Qatar and the UAE have all closed their airspaces, while Syria has also partially closed its airspace around its border with Israel. It is unclear how long these restrictions will remain in place, but previous shutdowns have typically been lifted in the following days.
How Airlines Are Avoiding War Zones As Tensions Mount
Several airlines have canceled flights or diverted routes as airspace closures have taken effect over parts of Israel, Iraq, and Jordan.
A Vital Travel Corridor
The Middle East is one of the most important air corridors in the world, particularly for long-haul flights between Europe and Asia. This latest escalation threatens further disruption in a region that not only offers vital overflight access but is home to some of the world’s largest hub-and-spoke airlines.
Airlines have already been flying suboptimal routings to circumvent problematic airspace regions, most notably Iran, which has added on significant costs to each flight. As explored by Simple Flying earlier this month, Gulf airlines are reportedly burning up to $7,500 in additional costs per flight hour due to higher fuel burn.
Over time, the situation could prove financially unviable for many airlines. Carriers have also experienced this in recent years with Russia’s ongoing airspace restrictions, particularly European airlines operating long-haul services to Asia and beyond.
