As the Iran-Israel war escalates, global aviation has been severely disrupted with airlines across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and beyond cancelling, suspending or rerouting flights due to widespread airspace closures and safety concerns.
The spike in military activity has sent carriers into a state of heightened caution, with many pausing services to and from key destinations in the region.
Impact on India
The closure of Iranian airspace has hit Europe–India air routes the hardest, particularly UK and European flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru which normally overfly Iran. Alternative routes going north via Central Asia or south via the Arabian Sea are significantly increasing flight times and fuel costs. Rerouting incurs approximately $6,000 in additional operating costs per flight hour, according to Aerospace Global News. These costs that will eventually be passed on to passengers through surcharges or fare increases.
Air India has suspended all flights to Middle East destinations, diverting its Delhi–Tel Aviv service to Mumbai after airspace closures. IndiGo suspended flights to Almaty, Baku, Tashkent and Tbilisi — routes that transit Iranian airspace — extending suspensions until March 28.
8 countries shut airspaces
At least eight states have declared their airspace closed — Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Syria also announced it had closed part of its airspace in the south along its border with Israel for 12 hours, Al Jazeera reported.
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Which other airlines have been affected?
Among the first to react to the ongoing crisis was was Iberia Express, which cancelled its scheduled Tel Aviv flight following the outbreak of hostilities. The Spanish carrier also reported that a separate Madrid flight had to turn back when Doha’s airspace closed.
Virgin Atlantic followed by temporarily suspending its London Heathrow–Dubai flight and avoiding Iraqi airspace, reinforcing that passenger and crew safety is its top priority.
Pegasus Airlines cancelled flights to Iran until June 30 and Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan until June 23. Japan Airlines cancelled its Tokyo–Doha flight (and the return) as part of broader disruptions affecting flights through regional airspace.
European carriers also impacted
European carriers were also hit hard. Air France called off all flights to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut for the day, while KLM brought forward the suspension of its Amsterdam–Tel Aviv service and is considering broader schedule changes. Wizz Air took a wider-ranging step by halting all flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman until early March, noting that operations may change as developments unfold.
Norwegian Air suspended flights to and from Dubai until at least March 4.
Other European airlines such as British Airways, Lufthansa cancelled flights to Dubai, Beirut and Oman, while LOT Polish Airlines returned a Warsaw-to-Dubai flight mid-air due to changing airspace availability. Turkish Airlines suspended all flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan until early March, and Bulgaria Air cancelled its Tel Aviv services for the same period. Qatar Airways also confirmed temporary suspensions amid the evolving situation. Italy’s ITA Airways also suspended some flights in Middle East until March 7.
In Russia, the Ministry of Transport ordered national carriers to suspend services to both Iran and Israel, with alternative routes around the Gulf planned. These adjustments, however, come with longer flight durations due to airspace restrictions.