Post the attack by Israel on Iran, several airlines altered their flight routes above Iran, cancelled certain flights, redirected others to different airports, or sent planes back to their originating destinations amid airspace and airport closures and security concerns.
Iran has closed its airports in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan after the attack by Israel. As per FlightRadar24, Iran also cleared flights from the western portion of its airspace for a few hours after the attack. By 0445 GMT the airports and airspace had reopened, and closure notices posted on a US Federal Aviation Administration database had been removed.
Prior to the reopening of the airports, Flydubai said it had cancelled its Friday flights to Iran. Additionally, one of its previous flights was reported to have returned to Dubai.
Even before Israel’s attack, several Western and Asian airlines had been avoiding Iran and its airspace. This precautionary measure had been in place following Iran’s recent missile and drone strike on Israel.
Flights diverted, cancelled
As per Flightradar 24, an Iran Air flight, traveling from Rome to Tehran, was diverted to Ankara in Turkey. Lufthansa has cancelled all its flights to Tel Aviv and Erbil until Saturday, adding that it will be flying around Iraqi airspace during the period.
“The safety of passengers and crews is always the top priority,” Lufthansa said.
According to the tracking website, Emirates, Flydubai, Turkish Air, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, and Belavia were among the airlines that persisted in flying over the section of Iran’s airspace that remained accessible immediately of the Friday morning attack.
“We are monitoring the situation closely and will make changes to our flight paths in consultation with the relevant authorities,” Flydubai said.
The closure of Iran’s airspace and airports added to the challenges faced by Dubai-based airlines following unprecedented rainfall in the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai’s primary airport, among the busiest globally, announced on Friday that it would restrict the number of incoming flights for two days as it works to clear a backlog remaining three days after the storm.
Since Tuesday, FlightRadar24 reports that a total of 1,478 flights to and from Dubai have been canceled, constituting approximately 30% of all scheduled flights.
Earlier, Lufthansa announced an extension of the suspension of its flights to Tehran until the end of the month, citing ongoing security concerns in the region.
Etihad Airways, which does not fly to Iran, said it “continuously monitors security and airspace updates, safety is always our highest priority and we would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so.”
(With Reuters inputs)