More flights cancelled as Iran conflict shuts Mideast hubs

The biggest disruption to global air transport since the Covid pandemic continued Sunday, with thousands of flights affected and busy Middle Eastern hubs including Dubai and Doha shuttered as Iran lashed out after US-Israeli strikes.

Israel and Iran traded new attacks on Sunday, after Tehran hit both the Dubai International Airport — the world's busiest for international traffic — and Kuwait's main airport during its retaliatory strikes one day earlier.

Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates had all announced at least partial closures of their skies Saturday after the US and Israel attacked Iran, bringing civilian air traffic over the Middle East to an abrupt halt.

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al Abdullah Al Sabah (L) visits the international airport after it was hit by a reported Iranian strike in Kuwait City. AFP

Notable airlines that cancelled services included Emirates, Etihad, Air France, British Airways, Air India, Turkish Airlines, and Lufthansa.

Flight tracking site FlightAware said that more than 6,700 flights had been delayed and 1900 cancelled globally as of 1000 GMT Sunday, on top of thousands the day before.

Airspace closures

Iran swiftly closed its airspace as the strikes began "until further notice", said the spokesman of Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation, quoted by the Tasnim news agency. Israel also closed its airspace to civilian flights, Transport Minister Miri Regev announced.

Qatar's civil aviation authority said it had temporarily closed the Gulf state's airspace. Iraq shut down airspace, state media said.
The United Arab Emirates said it was closing its skies "partially and temporarily."

An airport official gives instruction to Nepalese migrant workers en route to the Middle East after their flight was disrupted by regional airspace closures in Kathmandu. AP

Syria closed part of its airspace in the south along the border with Israel for 12 hours, the Civil Aviation Authority said.

Jordan's air force was conducting drills to "defend the kingdom's skies", its military said. Kuwait closed its airspace.

Middle East and North Africa airlines

Gulf carriers Emirates and Etihad cancelled 38 per cent and 30 per cent of their flights respectively, Cirium said.

Qatar Airways suspended all flights from Doha. It cancelled 41 per cent of total flights, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.

Qatar Airways and Emirates Airways plane is parked at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Kuta, Bali. Rueters

Syria Air, the country's national carrier, cancelled all flights until further notice.

Egypt's national airline, EgyptAir, announced the suspension of its flights to cities across the Middle East, including Dubai, Doha, Manama, Abu Dhabi, Beirut and Baghdad among others.

European airlines

Russia's air transport authority Rosaviatsia said all commercial flights to Israel and Iran were cancelled "until further notice."

Turkish Airlines cancelled flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Jordan until March 2.

Passengers whose flights were cancelled, wait at the departure terminal of Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut. AP

Air France cancelled its Dubai, Riyadh, Beirut and Tel Aviv flights until Sunday, extending its earlier suspension.

British Airways said it was not flying to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until March 4, and cancelled flights to the Jordanian capital Amman on Saturday.

Swiss International Air Lines suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until March 7, and cancelled flights from Zurich to Dubai scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Stranded passengers wait at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after flights to Dubai and Bahrain were cancelled in Dhaka. Reuters

Germany's Lufthansa, which comprises Swiss and ITA Airways, cancelled its flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil and Tehran until March 7.

The airline group and its subsidiaries suspended flights to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi until Sunday.

North America airlines

Delta Air Lines suspended New York-Tel Aviv flights until Sunday.

American Airlines "temporarily suspended" Doha-Philadelphia flights. United flights to Tel Aviv are cancelled until Monday, and flights to Dubai until Sunday.

Air Canada said it cancelled flights from Canada to Israel until March 8 and to Dubai until March 3.

Asia-Pacific airlines

India's two largest private carriers IndiGo and Air India suspended flights to all destinations in the Middle East.

Pakistan International Airlines, the flag carrier of the country that borders Iran, said it had suspended flights to the UAE, Bahrain, Doha and Kuwait.

A stranded passenger sits in the parking lot of the Dubai International Airport after its closure in Dubai. AP

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific suspended flights to Dubai and Riyadh.

Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia's flag carrier, temporarily suspended flights to and from Doha "until further notice", the company said in a statement Sunday.

Singapore Airlines and Singapore's Scoot cancelled six flight routes in the region until the end of Sunday, local media reported.

Philippine Airlines flights from Manila to Doha, Riyadh to Manila, and Dubai to Manila were cancelled on Saturday, as well as one Doha-Manila flight on Sunday.

Other major airlines including Australia's Qantas and Japan's All Nippon Airways did not announce any flight cancellations.

Africa airlines

Ethiopian Airlines cancelled its flights to Amman, Tel Aviv, Dammam, and Beirut. Kenya Airways has suspended its flights to Dubai and Sharjah until further notice.

Agence France-Presse