Iran Israel war in the middle-east region has forced flight cancellations from airlines across the world. Qatar has suspended air traffic as precautionary measure, the country's government stated. Kuwait, United Arab Emirates or UAE and Bahrain have also closed airspace after Iran conducted attacks US base in Qatar. Airports across the Gulf are warning of cancelled, delayed and redirected flights, as planes are turning around from the Gulf, according to flight data. On Monday, Iran attacked a US base in neighbouring Qatar in retaliation for American strikes on its nuclear facilities.
The usually busy airspace stretching from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean has been largely empty of commercial air traffic for 10 days since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, as airlines divert, cancel and delay flights through the region due to airspace closures and safety concerns. Cancellations in recent days to usually resilient aviation hubs like Dubai, the world's busiest international airport, and Qatar's Doha by international carriers show how aviation industry concerns about the region have escalated.
Also Read - Iran Israel war: Why has Iran attacked US military base Al Udeid air base in Qatar? Here are reasons
Flights Cancelled
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways says it is re-routing several flights on June 23 and June 24 in response to airspace restrictions in parts of the middle east. Egypt's national airliner, EgyptAir, says it has canceled flights between Cairo and the Arab Gulf countries "until the situation stabilizes in the region."
Also Read - Are Americans now fearing possible world war 3, 9/11 like attacks? Survey shows shocking results
Leading Asian carrier Singapore Airlines, which described the situation as 'fluid', moved to cancel flights to Dubai through to Tuesday, having previously cancelled only its Sunday service, Reuters reported.
IAG group member Iberia cancelled Sunday's and Monday's Doha flights after making its own assessment, a spokesperson said. It has not made a decision regarding later flights.
Air France KLM cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh on Sunday and Monday, and Finnair cancelled flights from Doha until at least Tuesday.
Kazakhstan's Air Astana cancelled flights to Dubai on Monday.
When will Flights Resume?
However, some international airlines were expecting to resume services. Flightradar24 departure boards show British Airways, owned by IAG, was set to resume Dubai and Doha flights on Monday after cancelling routes to and from those airports on Sunday.
With Russian and Ukrainian airspace also closed to most airlines due to years of war, the Middle East had become a more important route for flights between Europe and Asia. Amid missile and air strikes during the past 10 days, airlines have routed north via the Caspian Sea or south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Added to increased fuel and crew costs from these long detours and cancellations, carriers also face a potential hike in jet fuel costs as oil prices rise following the US attacks.
Australia-based Flight Centre Travel Group said it is getting a small number of customer requests to route journeys to Europe away from Middle Eastern hubs.
Flightradar24 told Reuters it had seen a "dramatic increase" in jamming and spoofing in recent days over the Persian Gulf. SkAI, a Swiss company that runs a GPS disruption map, late on Sunday said it had observed more than 150 aircraft spoofed in 24 hours there.
American Airlines Under Threat?
Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information, said US attacks on Iran's nuclear sites could heighten the threat to American operators in the region. This could raise additional airspace risks in Gulf states like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it said.
In the days before the US strikes, American Airlines suspended flights to Qatar, and United Airlines and Air Canada did the same with flights to Dubai. They have yet to resume.
While international airlines are shying away from the region, local carriers in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq are tentatively resuming some flights after widespread cancellations.
Q1. Which is the busiest airport in world?
A1. Dubai is the world's busiest international airport.
Q2. Which are two big US airlines?
A2. Two big US airlines are American Airlines and United Airlines.
The usually busy airspace stretching from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean has been largely empty of commercial air traffic for 10 days since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, as airlines divert, cancel and delay flights through the region due to airspace closures and safety concerns. Cancellations in recent days to usually resilient aviation hubs like Dubai, the world's busiest international airport, and Qatar's Doha by international carriers show how aviation industry concerns about the region have escalated.
Also Read - Iran Israel war: Why has Iran attacked US military base Al Udeid air base in Qatar? Here are reasons
Flights Cancelled
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways says it is re-routing several flights on June 23 and June 24 in response to airspace restrictions in parts of the middle east. Egypt's national airliner, EgyptAir, says it has canceled flights between Cairo and the Arab Gulf countries "until the situation stabilizes in the region."
Also Read - Are Americans now fearing possible world war 3, 9/11 like attacks? Survey shows shocking results
Leading Asian carrier Singapore Airlines, which described the situation as 'fluid', moved to cancel flights to Dubai through to Tuesday, having previously cancelled only its Sunday service, Reuters reported.
IAG group member Iberia cancelled Sunday's and Monday's Doha flights after making its own assessment, a spokesperson said. It has not made a decision regarding later flights.
Air France KLM cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh on Sunday and Monday, and Finnair cancelled flights from Doha until at least Tuesday.
Kazakhstan's Air Astana cancelled flights to Dubai on Monday.
When will Flights Resume?
However, some international airlines were expecting to resume services. Flightradar24 departure boards show British Airways, owned by IAG, was set to resume Dubai and Doha flights on Monday after cancelling routes to and from those airports on Sunday.
With Russian and Ukrainian airspace also closed to most airlines due to years of war, the Middle East had become a more important route for flights between Europe and Asia. Amid missile and air strikes during the past 10 days, airlines have routed north via the Caspian Sea or south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Added to increased fuel and crew costs from these long detours and cancellations, carriers also face a potential hike in jet fuel costs as oil prices rise following the US attacks.
Australia-based Flight Centre Travel Group said it is getting a small number of customer requests to route journeys to Europe away from Middle Eastern hubs.
Flightradar24 told Reuters it had seen a "dramatic increase" in jamming and spoofing in recent days over the Persian Gulf. SkAI, a Swiss company that runs a GPS disruption map, late on Sunday said it had observed more than 150 aircraft spoofed in 24 hours there.
American Airlines Under Threat?
Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information, said US attacks on Iran's nuclear sites could heighten the threat to American operators in the region. This could raise additional airspace risks in Gulf states like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it said.
In the days before the US strikes, American Airlines suspended flights to Qatar, and United Airlines and Air Canada did the same with flights to Dubai. They have yet to resume.
While international airlines are shying away from the region, local carriers in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq are tentatively resuming some flights after widespread cancellations.
FAQs
Q1. Which is the busiest airport in world?
A1. Dubai is the world's busiest international airport.
Q2. Which are two big US airlines?
A2. Two big US airlines are American Airlines and United Airlines.
( Originally published on Jun 23, 2025 )
