Israeli airstrikes on Iran have forced airlines to avoid large parts of the Middle East, leading to thousands of flights being canceled or rerouted on Friday, June 13. This latest round of turmoil in the region due to escalated conflicts is causing disruptions in air travel across the Middle East.
The Israeli airstrikes on Iran in the early hours of Friday local time have raised heightened safety concerns for air travel in the Middle East.
Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, has been closed, with Israeli defense forces on high alert to guard against potential retaliatory strikes from Iran.
Israeli flagship airline, El Al Israel Airlines, has suspended flights to and from Israel, while Air France KLM Group, Ryanair, and Wizz Air have taken similar measures.
Wizz Air has stated that flights affected by the airspace closures in the region will be rerouted within the next 72 hours. The three Israeli airlines – El Al Israel Airlines, Israir Airlines, and Arkia Airlines – are evacuating their aircraft from the country.
Data from the FlightRadar24 aviation tracking platform shows that there are no flights over Iranian, Iraqi, and Jordanian airspace, with flights redirected towards Saudi Arabia or Egypt.
According to Eurocontrol, approximately 1800 flights to and from Europe have been affected as of Friday morning, with around 650 flights canceled.
With the closure of Russian and Ukrainian airspace due to war, the Middle East has become an even more vital international flight route between Europe and Asia.
Many airlines had already suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv as a missile launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen on May 4 landed near the airport.
Iranian official media reports and notifications received by pilots indicate that Iranian airspace has been temporarily closed until further notice.
Air India flights on routes to Europe and North America that pass through Iranian airspace have been rerouted or returned to their departure points due to the situation.
Lufthansa Group Airlines has suspended flights to Tehran and is currently avoiding Iranian, Iraqi, and Israeli airspace.
Emirates Airlines has canceled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iran, while Qatar Airways has canceled flights to Iran, Iraq, and Syria.
Iraqi state media reported that Iraq closed its airspace early Friday morning and suspended all flight departures and landings at airports.
Jordan, situated between Israel and Iraq, also closed its airspace hours after Israel launched military actions.
Rosaviatsia, the Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia, has instructed Russian airlines to suspend the use of Iranian, Iraqi, Israeli, and Jordanian airspace until June 26. They have also banned commercial flights to Iranian and Israeli airports. Russian state-owned news agency RIA, citing Rosaviatsia, reported that Emirates’ Flydubai has canceled 22 flights from 10 Russian airports to Dubai on June 13-14.
(Adapted from Reuters reporting)