Major airlines close Middle East routes, causing travel disruption
Widespread travel disruption to and from the Middle East continued today as airlines canceled flights through the region’s main hub, which is a target of Iranian retaliation and hosts U.S. military bases.
Gulf carrier Etihad Airways announced this morning that flights to and from Abu Dhabi have been suspended until tomorrow in light of the regional airspace closures impacting services, with operations continuing to be affected. The United Arab Emirates yesterday implemented a partial airspace closure.
Another Gulf carrier, Qatar Airways, announced in an update today that its operations remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace. It added that further updates will be made tomorrow.
Other prominent airlines that have canceled flights include Lufthansa, Air France, British Airways, Air India, and Turkish Airlines.
Lufthansa has announced that it will suspend flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil and Tehran until March 7 due to the current situation in the Middle East.
There are currently no flights to and from the popular tourist destination after Dubai Airport suspended operations at its main airport yesterday.
Footage yesterday showed passengers hurriedly evacuating from a smoke-filled hallway at Dubai International Airport after a reported Iranian attack.
Overall, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, Bahrain and Qatar have closed their airspace, and neighboring countries have also implemented restrictions. FlightRadar24’s live tracking shows airlines being forced to change routes and cancel services.
A new “notice to airmen” from Flightradar 24 indicates that the closure of Iranian airspace has been extended until at least Tuesday, with the possibility of further extension.
As of 6 a.m. ET, a total of 7,716 flights worldwide were delayed and 2,280 canceled, according to aviation tracking website FlightAware.
