Global Flight Paths Thrown Into Chaos
The Middle East has become a crucial corridor linking Europe and Asia, especially with Russian and Ukrainian airspace largely off-limits due to the war in Ukraine. Now, that vital bridge has fractured.
Aircraft were forced to divert around hubs such as Larnaca, Jeddah, Cairo and Riyadh as controlled airspace rapidly shrank.
Major carriers across the region halted or curtailed operations:
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UAE-based Emirates and flydubai temporarily suspended operations.
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Etihad halted departures from Abu Dhabi until 10:00 GMT Sunday.
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Qatar Airways and Kuwait Airways paused flights.
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Turkish Airlines cancelled service to several Middle Eastern destinations.
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Oman Air suspended all flights to Baghdad.
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Kuwait’s aviation authority halted all flights to Iran indefinitely.
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Russia’s Transport Ministry said Russian carriers suspended flights to Iran and Israel.
International airlines joined the wave of cancellations, including Aegean Airlines, Air Algerie, Air France, Air India, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Indigo, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Pakistan International Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Wizz Air.
According to aviation data firm Cirium, about 24% of flights to the Middle East were cancelled Saturday. Roughly half of all scheduled flights to Qatar and Israel were scrapped, along with about 28% of services to Kuwait.
“Passengers and airlines can expect airspace to be shut for quite some time in the region,” said Eric Schouten, head of aviation security advisory Dyami. “The impact on regional aviation is immediate and highly fluid.”
