Share and Follow
Airlines around the globe halted flights throughout the Middle East on Saturday following military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran, which ignited a fresh wave of conflict in the area.
Flight maps displayed a noticeable void in the skies above Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, and Bahrain, as Israel confirmed its assault on Iran and the U.S. military launched a series of attacks on various targets within the nation. In retaliation, Iran responded with missile strikes.
According to preliminary data from Cirium, airlines axed nearly 40% of flights to Israel and 6.7% of flights across the broader region on Saturday.
The United Arab Emirates, which hosts major airlines Emirates and Etihad, closed its airspace on Saturday.
The repercussions are already reaching Australian airports, where the 6 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. Emirates departures from Sydney and Melbourne were both canceled.
“We apologise to customers affected by disruptions for any inconvenience caused, and we are assisting them with rebooking, refunds, or alternative travel arrangements,” Emirates said in a statement to passengers.
“The safety and security of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority.”
An early morning Etihad flight out of Brisbane was similarly cut but the evening departure is “estimated” to go ahead as planned.
Similarly, evening flights out of Perth and Sydney for Sunday are currently showing as “on time”.
While the closure of Abu Dhabi’s airspace forced the cancellation of Etihad flights on Saturday, currently Sunday afternoon’s departure out of Sydney Airport is showing as “on time”.
“All departures from Abu Dhabi are suspended until 14.00 (9pm AEDT) Sunday 1 March,” the airline said in a statement.
“Arrivals before 14.00 Sunday 1 March are cancelled. Services after this time are expected to operate, subject to conditions.”
Qatar Airways said it had temporarily cancelled flights to and from Doha because Qatari airspace was closed, estimating normal flights would resume around midnight (8am AEDT).
As a result the Saturday night flight out of Perth was cancelled but Sunday’s 10.45pm departure remains on the board.
So far, the Qatar flights to Doha out of Melbourne in the afternoon, as well as out of Sydney and Brisbane in the evening, are all still on the board as scheduled as well.
The airline warns customers to expect delays once business resumes.
“Once operations resume, passengers should expect delays, and are advised to check the latest flight information,” they said in a statement.
Virgin Australia’s listed flight to Doha on Sunday, VA1, is showing as “diverted” on the Sydney Airport schedule and VA21 out of Perth in the afternoon is showing as “cancelled”.
Flow on effects all over the globe
Dutch airline KLM had already announced earlier in the week that it was suspending flights to and from Tel Aviv starting Sunday.
Airlines including Lufthansa, Air France, Transavia, Qatar Airways, and Pegasus have cancelled all flights to Lebanon.
Virgin Atlantic cancelled its flight from Heathrow Airport in London to Dubai and said it would avoid flying over Iraq, meaning flights to and from India, the Maldives and Riyadh could take slightly longer.
The airline already was not flying over Iran. Virgin Atlantic said all flights would carry appropriate fuel in case they need to reroute on short notice.
British Airways said flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain will be suspended until next week, and flights to Amman, Jordan, will be cancelled Saturday.
United Airlines said flights en-route to Tel Aviv and Dubai on Saturday morning were either diverted or returned to the US.
The airline cancelled flights between the US and Tel Aviv through Monday and flights between the US and Dubai through Sunday. It issued a travel waiver so passengers can change their flights at no cost.
Turkish Airlines said on X that flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan will be suspended until Monday and flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman would be suspended on Saturday.
The airline said additional cancellations may be announced and Kuwait Airways temporarily suspended flights.
Kuwait’s aviation authority said it was halting all flights to Iran until further notice, according to the state news agency, while Oman Air said it had suspended all flights to Baghdad due to the regional developments.
The European Union’s aviation regulator EASA on Saturday recommended its airlines stay out of the airspace affected by the on-going military intervention.
The Russian Ministry of Transport said on Saturday that Russian air carriers had suspended flights to Iran and Israel.
Germany’s Lufthansa LHAG.DE said it was suspending flights to and from Dubai on Saturday and Sunday and halting temporarily the Tel Aviv, Beirut and Oman routes until March 7. Air France cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut.
Iberia also cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, while Wizz Air WIZZ.L suspended flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman with immediate effect until the same date, it said.
Passengers and airlines can expect airspace to be shut for some time in the region. It’s also important to look at the tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan as that will limit airspace even further, said Eric Schouten, head of aviation security advisory Dyami.
“With hostilities now underway, the impact on regional aviation is immediate and highly fluid,” he said.
“We also anticipate precautionary evacuations or temporary shutdowns at select Gulf airports if the threat envelope expands, which would immediately disrupt key transit hubs,” he noted.
Various Indian airlines, including Air India, also suspended flights to the Middle East.
– Reported with Reuters, Associated Press and CNN.
NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.