Airlines suspend flights from the Middle East | News

International airlines suspended flights across the Middle East on Saturday after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, plunging the region into renewed military confrontation.
Flight maps showed the airspace over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel and Bahrain was virtually empty as Israel said it had struck Iran and the US military initiated a series of attacks on targets in the country. Iran responded with a volley of missiles.

Airlines canceled nearly 40% of flights to Israel and 6.7% of flights to the broader region on Saturday, according to preliminary data from Cirium.
Witnesses told Reuters of explosions across the Gulf, including in Doha, Qatar, home to the largest US military base in the Middle East, as well as in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The escalation dashed hopes for a diplomatic solution to Tehran’s nuclear dispute with the West and reignited the conflict after weeks of U.S. military buildup in the region.
It marks the latest upheaval for air traffic in the usually busy region amid escalating tensions. Airports in the Middle East are among the busiest in the world, covering an area stretching from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean Sea and serving as a connecting hub for flights between Europe and Asia. The region has also taken on a more important role since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, forcing airlines to avoid the airspace over both countries.

Conflict zones pose an increasing operational burden for airlines as airstrikes raise concerns about the accidental or intentional shooting down of commercial air traffic. Longer flight times also require more fuel, which increases costs.
Israel, Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan closed their airspace after the attacks and a map of the region on Flightradar24 showed planes avoiding these areas.

BRITISH AIRWAYS, LUFTHANSA, WIZZ AIR SUSPENDED FLIGHTS
The European Union’s aviation regulator EASA on Saturday recommended its airlines stay out of airspace affected by the ongoing military intervention.
British Airways, owned by IAG (ICAG.L), opens a new tab said it was monitoring the situation and has canceled flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until March 3, as well as Saturday’s flights to Amman.
Russia’s Transport Ministry said on Saturday that Russian airlines had suspended flights to Iran and Israel.

Germany’s Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), opens a new tab, said it was suspending flights to and from Dubai on Saturday and Sunday and temporarily halting routes to Tel Aviv, Beirut and Oman until March 7. Air France canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut.
Iberia has also canceled flights to Tel Aviv, while Wizz Air (WIZZ.L) is opening a new tab with suspended flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman, effective immediately until the same date.
Passengers and airlines can expect airspace in the region to be closed for some time. It is also important to watch tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which will further restrict airspace, said Eric Schouten, head of aviation safety consultancy Dyami.
“With hostilities underway, the impact on regional aviation is immediate and highly variable,” he said.
“We also expect precautionary evacuations or temporary closures at select Gulf airports if the threat range expands, which would immediately disrupt key transit hubs,” he noted.

Several Indian airlines, including Air India, also suspended flights to the Middle East.
REGIONAL CARRIERS AFFECTED
Regional airspace closures have disrupted several Emirates flights, the Dubai-based airline said, while sister carrier Flydubai said it had temporarily suspended operations on Saturday “due to the ongoing developments in the region.”
Qatar Airways and Kuwait Airways have temporarily suspended flights, while Turkish Airlines has also canceled flights to several destinations in the Middle East.
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 regional developments.
KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA), opens a new tab, has brought forward the suspension of the Amsterdam-Tel Aviv service and canceled the flight scheduled for Saturday after strikes in Iran, a spokesman said.
The airline had announced on Wednesday that flights would be stopped from Sunday, March 1. Only one flight to Tel Aviv was scheduled for Saturday.
Virgin Atlantic said it had decided to temporarily avoid Iraqi airspace, resulting in some diversion of its flights.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/airlines-suspend-middle-east-flights-after-us-israel-strikes-iran-2026-02-28/