The US and Israeli attack on Iran continued to cause severe disruption to flights throughout the Middle East and beyond on Sunday, creating uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of travellers.
Countries across the region closed their airspace, and three of the key airports that connect Europe, Africa and the west to Asia halted operations.
In response, the UK government is planning one of the biggest evacuations in its history. More than 76,000 British citizens have registered their presence in affected areas of the Middle East and this number is expected to rise.
Travellers were either stranded or diverted to other airports after Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain shut their airspace.
There were also no flights over the United Arab Emirates, the flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said, after the government announced a “temporary and partial closure” of its airspace. That led to the closure of airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, and the cancellation of thousands of flights by major Middle Eastern and global airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Dubai is the world’s busiest airport for international traffic.
Major international airports in the region also became targets of Iran’s retaliatory strikes. Dubai’s international airport and its landmark Burj Al Arab hotel sustained damage and four people were injured. Abu Dhabi Airports said in a post on X that an incident at Zayed international airport in the UAE’s capital resulted in one death and seven injuries. It later deleted the post.
The three major airlines that operate at those airports – Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad – typically have about 90,000 passengers a day passing through those hubs, and even more travellers headed to destinations in the Middle East, according to the aviation analytics firm Cirium. All three suspended flights.
More than 3,400 flights were cancelled across the seven main airports in the Middle East on Sunday. .
The tracking service Flightradar24 said a new “notice to airmen” had extended closure of Iranian airspace until at least 8.30am UK time on Tuesday.
More than two-thirds of the 76,000 Britons in affected areas are believed to be in the UAE, and most are holidaymakers or other travellers, rather than residents. Dubai is a major tourist and business destination.
The UK government’s advice is for people to follow local instructions, especially where it is to shelter in their current location. It is also looking at all options for different eventualities, which could include evacuations via different routes at a later date – an enormous logistical task.
The Foreign Office’s advice is against all travel to Iran, Israel and Palestine. It also advises against all but essential travel to the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.
There are further instructions to avoid travel to some parts of Pakistan, and British nationals in Saudi Arabia are advised to stay at home.
Those in Jordan, Oman, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq should take precautions, given the heightened regional tensions.
Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group, said: “For travellers, there’s no way to sugarcoat this. You should prepare for delays or cancellations for the next few days as these attacks evolve and hopefully end.”
“It’s the sheer volume of people and the complexity,” said John Strickland, a UK-based aviation analyst. “It is not only customers, it is the crews and aircraft all over the place.”
Austrian Airlines sent an evacuation flight to Muscat, the capital of Oman, on Sunday to return staff and crew unable to fly from Dubai.
The airspace closures in the Middle East could be exacerbated by the fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan, squeezing airlines into even narrower flight corridors.
It is unclear how long the disruption to flights could last. The situation is changing quickly and airlines urged passengers to check their flight status online before heading to the airport.
Twenty-four out of 56 flights scheduled to depart from Heathrow to destinations in the Middle East were cancelled on Sunday, according to data from Cirium. Some airlines issued waivers to travellers that will allow them to rebook their flight plans without paying extra fees or higher fares.
Jonathan Escott and his fiance had arrived at the airport in Newcastle, England, on Saturday only to find out that his direct flight to Dubai on Emirates had been cancelled, leaving everyone on the flight stuck there.
Escott left to go back to where he was staying with family, about an hour from the airport, and had no idea when he may be able to travel. “No one knows,” he said. “No one really knows what’s going on with the conflict, really. Not Emirates, Emirates don’t have a clue.”
The cancellations
Numerous airlines cancelled international flights to Dubai through the weekend, as India’s civil aviation agency designated much of the Middle East – including skies above Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon – as a high security risk zone at all altitudes.
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Air India cancelled all flights to Middle East destinations, as well as some other destinations including London, New York and Paris.
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Turkish Airlines said flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan were suspended until Monday and flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman were suspended.
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US-based Delta Air Lines and United Airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv at least through the weekend.
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The Dutch airline KLM had already announced earlier in the week that it was suspending flights to and from Tel Aviv. It has now also cancelled services to Dubai, Dammam and Riyadh until Thursday.
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Lufthansa suspended services to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut and Oman until Saturday, and flights in and out of Dubai.
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Pegasus Airlines has cancelled all services to Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.
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Airlines including Air France and Transavia cancelled all flights to Lebanon, while American Airlines suspended flights from Philadelphia to Doha.
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Virgin Atlantic said it would avoid flying over Iraq, meaning flights to and from India, the Maldives and Riyadh could take slightly longer. The airline was already not flying over Iran and said all flights would carry appropriate fuel in case they need to reroute on short notice.
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British Airways said flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain would be suspended until next week, and flights to Amman, Jordan, were cancelled on Saturday. It said customers booked up to Wednesday could request a full refund.
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Wizz Air has suspended all flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman until next Sunday.
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LOT suspended flights to Tel Aviv until 15 March, and cancelled flights to Dubai and Riyadh until Monday.
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FlyDubai suspended flights to and from Dubai until 3pm local time on Monday.
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Air Canada cancelled flights to Dubai until Tuesday, and to Israel until next Sunday.
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Aegean Airlines, Greece’s largest carrier, suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut and Erbil until Monday.
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Air Astana has cancelled all flights to the Middle East until the end of Tuesday
Airspace closures
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Iran swiftly closed its airspace as the strikes began “until further notice”, according to its Civil Aviation Organisation.
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Israel also closed its airspace to civilian flights, the transport minister, Miri Regev, announced.
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Qatar’s civil aviation authority said it had temporarily closed the Gulf state’s airspace.
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Iraq shut down its airspace, state media said.
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The United Arab Emirates said it was closing its skies “partially and temporarily”.
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Syria closed part of its airspace in the south along the border with Israel for 12 hours, the civil aviation authority said.
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Jordan’s air force was conducting drills to “defend the kingdom’s skies”, its military said.
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Kuwait closed its airspace.
With Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse
