Israel and Iran exchanged another round of deadly strikes late Saturday and into Sunday, following Israeli attacks on Friday that reportedly targeted Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Commercial air traffic vanished from the skies over Iran, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq on Friday, with flights directed towards Saudi Arabia and Egypt instead, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24.
Israel’s airspace remains closed for landings and takeoffs at Ben Gurion Airport, while Air France, budget carriers Ryanair and Wizz, and US Delta Air Lines suspended flights to Tel Aviv through the end of August.
Many global airlines had already halted flights to and from Tel Aviv after a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi group towards Israel on 4 May landed near Ben Gurion Airport.
Meanwhile, Iran’s civil aviation authorities announced that the country’s airspace will remain closed until 3pm Sunday, urging passengers to monitor the website for updates rather than go to airports in person.
By Saturday morning, Jordan’s Civil Aviation Commission announced that it had reopened its airspace to air traffic at 8am, unless new regional developments emerged.
Similarly, Syria’s Civil Aviation Authority declared its airspace fully open to civil aviation, stating it was safe and compliant with international aviation standards.
In Lebanon, Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamni confirmed the reopening of Lebanese airspace on Saturday at 10am, according to the National News Agency.
Middle East Airlines, Lebanon’s flag carrier, said it would reschedule its flights accordingly and issue a detailed statement soon.
Flights diverted, cancelled
Israel's Friday attacks on Iran forced multiple international flights to be diverted or rescheduled to avoid conflict zones.
According to Reuters, citing data from Eurocontrol (the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation), around 650 flights to and from Europe were cancelled by Friday, with nearly 1,800 European flights affected overall.
Air India also announced via X (formerly Twitter) that over a dozen of its flights, including routes from New York, London, Vancouver, and Washington, had been disrupted due to the developments in Iran.
Dubai-based Emirates Airlines cancelled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iran through Sunday.
Dubai Airports confirmed that airspace closures over Iran, Iraq, and Syria had led to delays and cancellations at Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport, urging travellers to check with their airlines for updates and rebooking options.
Qatar Airways also temporarily suspended its services to Iran and Iraq, noting that three major airports in Iran, including Tehran, and five in Iraq, including Baghdad, had been affected.
Germany’s Lufthansa suspended flights to Tehran and Tel Aviv through 31 July. Its flights to Amman, Beirut, and Erbil were also paused until 20 June.
On Sunday, EgyptAir cancelled its flights to Beirut, Amman, Baghdad, and Erbil due to ongoing developments in the region and for passenger safety.
In a statement on Friday, Egypt’s Ministry of Civil Aviation confirmed that Egyptian airspace remained open and fully operational, with flights running normally under internationally recognized safety standards.
Additionally, Cairo International Airport received nine foreign aircraft for refuelling after their routes were adjusted due to neighbouring airspace closures, as CNN reported on Saturday.
Iraq’s Ministry of Transport confirmed that all flights at the country's airports remained suspended and that its airspace was temporarily closed to ensure the safety of passengers amid the growing regional tensions.
Short link: