Middle East nations close airspace after Israel strikes Iran

By Leen Al-Rashdan

Airlines traversing the Mideast face new challenges after Israel launched air strikes against Iran, leading a number of countries in the region to close their airspace.

Israel halted overflights until further notice, as did Iran after ceasing operations at its main airport in Tehran. Neighboring Iraq, Syria and Jordan were among the countries closing airspace after Israel struck Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic-missile sites on Friday.

The attacks mark a major escalation in the standoff between the two adversaries, and risk setting off a wider war in the Middle East. Israel and Iran have periodically exchanged gunfire over the past year, leading to flight disruptions in both countries.

Airlines have been forced to negotiate around narrowing flight corridors with more frequency over the past several years as conflicts escalate across the globe. The detours add to fuel costs, make flights longer and disrupt schedules.

In the past few weeks, operators had to avoid Pakistan and India as the two countries entered a short but deadly fight. Carriers flying into Russia have canceled and detoured flights as Ukraine expands drone use near Moscow.

Shares of airlines fell across Europe and the Middle East, with Turkish Airlines down 4.4 per cent in Istanbul and Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM each losing 3 per cent or more. Israel’s El Al declined 1.9 per cent.

Friday’s actions will add to the troubles at Air India, which passes over Iran on a sizable portion of its routes. An Air India flight crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, killing all but one of the 242 people aboard in the deadliest aviation accident in more than a decade.

“Air India’s misery appears to be compounding as the shuttering of airspace between Israel and Iran will mean more detours for India-Western Europe flights,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Eric Zhu and George Ferguson wrote in a note.

These flights account for almost a third of the airline’s international capacity, they estimate, and come on top of earlier decisions to reroute around Pakistan. Combined, the diversions “increase distance and time for New Delhi-Paris flights by up to 15 per cent,” they said.

Airspace over Iraq and Iran provides shorter routes for the Gulf carriers flying to Russia and the Americas, and also for flights between Europe and some destinations in Asia for airlines that are barred from Russian airspace.

Among the carriers that have canceled flights to Middle East countries or detoured planes on Friday are Dubai-based long-haul airline Emirates and its sister company Flydubai. El Al, Israel’s flag carrier, canceled all flights departing from Tel Aviv and detoured those set to return.

Air France on Friday suspended flights between Paris and Tel Aviv until further notice, and Emirates canceled flights to Iran and Iraq till Sunday.

The conflict between Iran and Israel heated up in April 2024, when Tehran launched a retaliatory missile strike against Tel Aviv, resulting in multiple flight restrictions and detours. Similar disruptions have followed each time Iran and Israel exchanged fire.