ISLAMABAD: Airlines across Asia, Europe and the Middle East suspended or rerouted flights on Saturday after US and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered widespread airspace closures and security alerts across the region.
Pakistan’s flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, said it halted services to several Gulf destinations, citing deteriorating regional conditions.
“PIA’s flights to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Doha and Kuwait have been suspended due to the changing situation,” the airline said in a statement.
Multiple governments moved to restrict civilian air traffic after Iran closed its airspace and retaliatory activity spread across neighboring states. Pakistan, Türkiye, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates all announced at least partial airspace closures within hours of the strikes.
Airlines suspend regional operations
Turkish Airlines said it cancelled flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan until March 2.
“Flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman are suspended for today,” spokesman Yahya Üstün said.
Qatar’s civil aviation authority announced a temporary closure of the country’s airspace, prompting Qatar Airways to suspend all departures and arrivals from Doha.
The airline said it “confirms the temporary suspension of its flights to, and from, Doha due to the closure of Qatari airspace.”
Air France said it was suspending flights to Dubai and Riyadh, expanding earlier cancellations that included Tel Aviv and Beirut.
“Due to the security situation at the destination, the airline has decided to cancel its flights scheduled for February 28 and March 1 to and from Tel Aviv,” the company said, adding that the suspension would be extended.
Russia’s aviation authority said all commercial flights to Israel and Iran were cancelled “until further notice,” affecting multiple Russian carriers.
Air India announced a blanket suspension of Middle East operations.
“In view of the developing situation in parts of the Middle East, all Air India flights to all destinations in the Middle East have been suspended,” the airline said in a statement.
British Airways said it would not operate flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until March 4 and confirmed the cancellation of a scheduled service to Amman.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and have taken the operational decision to cancel our flights,” the airline said.
Swiss International Air Lines said it suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until March 7 and cancelled scheduled services between Zurich and Dubai.
“As numerous airspaces are closed as a result of the current situation, we are cancelling these flights,” the airline said.
The Lufthansa Group said it cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil and Tehran until March 7, and temporarily halted services to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
“These measures are due to the current situation in the Middle East,” the group said.
Air Algérie said it cancelled flights scheduled for Saturday to Amman, Dubai and Doha, according to a statement released to local media.
Norwegian budget carrier Norwegian Air said it suspended flights to and from Dubai through March 4.
“We will then assess if it’s possible to resume flights,” communications director Charlotte Holmbergh said.
Widespread airspace closures
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said the country’s airspace was closed nationwide “until further notice.” Israel also shut its skies to civilian traffic, Transport Minister Miri Regev said.
Iraq closed its airspace entirely, while the United Arab Emirates said it was implementing a “partial and temporary” closure. Syria’s Civil Aviation Authority said southern air corridors near the Israeli border were closed for 12 hours.
Jordan’s military said its air force was conducting defensive drills to protect national airspace, later stating that two ballistic missiles were intercepted. Kuwait announced a full airspace closure, with its military saying it had “engaged incoming missiles.”
Flight tracking service FlightAware reported that by early afternoon GMT, more than 11,000 flights had been delayed worldwide and over 900 flights cancelled, reflecting the broad impact of the regional escalation on global air travel.
