Global airlines suspended flights across the Middle East on Saturday after the US-Israel strikes on Iran that prompted Gulf countries to close their airspace.
Of the 3,422 scheduled flights to Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan, 232 flights - or 6.7 per cent - were cancelled on Saturday, according to aviation data research firm Cirium.
The highest number of cancellations were for flights to Israel (37.3 per cent), followed by flights to Jordan (13.3 per cent) and to Qatar (10.1 per cent), the data showed.
The civil aviation authority said UAE airspace was temporarily and partially closed, according to a statement on Saturday by state-run news agency Wam.
As a result, all flights at Dubai International Airport and the emirate's second hub, Al Maktoum International Airport, are suspended until further notice, according to state-run operator Dubai Airports.
Home carrier Emirates, the world's biggest long-haul airline, said it has suspended all operations to and from Dubai due to multiple regional airspace closures.
Its sister airline, flydubai, also suspended its operations on Saturday. "This is a developing situation, which we are monitoring closely, and we are working with the relevant authorities while adjusting our flight schedule accordingly," a flydubai spokesperson said.
Low-cost carrier Air Arabia said on Saturday that it had cancelled flights to and from the UAE, where it has bases in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.
Abu Dhabi Airports said that some inbound and outbound flights at Zayed International Airport may be delayed, diverted or cancelled due to the airspace closure.
Its home carrier Etihad Airways said its flights to and from Abu Dhabi are disrupted. All flights scheduled to depart Abu Dhabi are suspended until 14:00 UAE time on Sunday, March 1, it said. Flights scheduled to arrive into Abu Dhabi before that will be cancelled.
Flights scheduled to arrive after this time are expected to operate, subject to "operational conditions," it said. Flights already on the way to Abu Dhabi are returning to their origin airports where required, it added.
Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman closed their airspaces after Israel and the US launched the attacks.
Qatar Airways confirmed the suspension of flights to and from Doha. The airline will resume operations after the airspace reopens, but anticipates where will be initial flight delays, it said in a statement on X. Saudia also cancelled several flights.
EgyptAir announced the suspension of flights from Cairo to Kuwait, Dubai, Doha, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Qusaim, Dammam, Erbil, Baghdad, Amman, Beirut and Muscat due to the "rapid developments and tensions in the region".
Turkish Airways said its flights from Istanbul to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan have been cancelled until March 2. Its flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Oman have been cancelled until February 28, it said in a post on X.
"If disruptions remain short-lived the impact is manageable," Linus Bauer, head of UAE-based boutique consultancy BAA & Partners, told The National.
"If airspace avoidance persists, airlines face structurally higher operating costs, weaker aircraft utilisation and profit margin pressure - especially on long-haul networks reliant on Middle East transit corridors."
High risk
Europe's aviation safety regulator EASA issued a Conflict Zone Information Bulletin for the Middle East and the Gulf that is valid until March before being reviewed, it said.
There is a "high risk to civil aviation" in the affected airspace, EASA said, advising airlines against operating there.
In a statement on its website, it said: "Given the ongoing military intervention, retaliatory actions against US and Israeli assets in the region are likely to occur, introducing additional high risks not only to the airspace of Iran but also to that of neighbouring states hosting US military bases or otherwise affected by the hostilities and associated military activities, including interceptions."
Deutsche Lufthansa, British Airways and India’s main airlines, including Indigo and Air India, also suspended their flights to the region.
Impact on airlines
The US-Israel strikes on Iran will mainly affect airlines through "operational inefficiency" rather than a collapse in demand for air travel, Mr Bauer said.
This means longer and costly re-routing of flights, higher insurance and war-risk premiums, amplifying fragility in route networks, raising fuel costs and magnifying operational disruptions.
With Russian airspace still largely restricted for many airlines due to the Ukraine war, "Europe-Asia traffic flows are already concentrated through Middle East air corridors", he said. "Reduced flight routing flexibility compounds congestion, fuel burn and schedule buffers."
However, the real impact on earnings often comes from lost aircraft productivity, irregular operations and cargo disruptions, rather than just incremental fuel cost increases, he added.
