UAE Airlines Cancel Divert Flights as Several Countries Shut Airspace Amid Rising Regional Tensions

Passengers have been advised to check their flight status on the airlines’ websites

UAE based airlines have cancelled and rerouted several flights as airspaces were shut in several parts of the Middle East amid rising regional on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, about 80 flights around the world — operated by the likes of Emirates, British Airways, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and bound for major Middle East hubs such as Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi — were diverted to places such as Cairo and European cities, showed data from tracking service FlightRadar24.

Many airlines have also suspended flights to the region or are avoiding use of affected air space.

Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates cancelled all its flights to and from Iraq (Basra and Baghdad), Iran (Tehran), and Jordan (Amman) on October 2 and 3.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and are making all efforts to ensure minimal disruption to customers, while assisting those impacted,” the airline said in a statement to Khaleej Times.

Until further notice, customers transiting through Dubai with final destinations in Iraq, Iran, and Jordan will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin until further notice, the airline said.

Emirates will also be cancelling the following flights on October 2:

• EK 837/838: Dubai‑ Bahrain ‑ Dubai
• EK855/86: Dubai ‑ Kuwait ‑ Dubai
• EK31/32: Dubai ‑ London Heathrow ‑Dubai
• EK866/867: Dubai ‑ Muscat ‑ Dubai

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has also rerouted a number of its flights on Tuesday (October 1) and Wednesday (October 2) in response to airspace restrictions, the airline confirmed to Khaleej Times.

Etihad also warned that the shutting of airspaces in Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon on Tuesday — following Iran’s missile attacks on Israel — “is likely to cause some disruption and delay to a number of flights over the coming days”.

“Etihad Airways flights only operate through approved airspace, safety is always our highest priority and we would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so,” added the Abu Dhabi-based carrier, noting: “This is a developing situation and the airline is continuously monitoring security and airspace updates.”

Local carrier flydubai also diverted and cancelled some of its flights in response to the the situation in the region:

• flydubai flight FZ 143 to Amman International Airport (AMM) and FZ 157 to Ankara International Airport (ESB) returned to Dubai.
• flydubai FZ 728 from Istanbul International Airport (IST) to Dubai International (DXB) returned to Istanbul.
• flydubai flights to Jordan, Iraq, Israel and Iran (with the exception of Bandar Abbas, Kish and Lar) have been cancelled on October 2 and 3.

Passengers connecting to these destinations will not be accepted for their onward travel, the airline said in a statement.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and amend our flight schedule accordingly. The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority. We are in direct contact with our passengers whose travel plans have been affected,” added the carrier.

All passengers are urged to check their flight status on their airlines’ websites or through call centres.

Pilots warned of escalating conflict

A spokesperson for FlightRadar24 said flights diverted “anywhere they could”, and a snapshot of regional traffic showed flights spreading in wide arcs to the north and south, with many converging on Cairo and Istanbul.

FlightRadar24 said Istanbul and Antalya in southern Turkey were becoming congested, forcing some airlines to divert south.

Iran launched the strikes in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon, and Israel vowed a “painful response” against its enemy.

Earlier, Eurocontrol, a pan-European air traffic control agency, had warned pilots of the escalating conflict.

“A major missile attack has been launched against Israel in the last few minutes,” it said in an urgent navigation bulletin. “At present the entire country is under a missile warning.”

Shortly afterwards it announced the closure of Jordanian and Iraqi airspace, as well as the closure of a key crossing point into airspace controlled by Cyprus.

An Iraqi pilot bulletin said its Baghdad-controlled airspace was closed until further notice, due to security concerns.

Iraq’s transport ministry later re-opened its airspace to civilian flights using its airports. On X, FlightRadar24 said, “It will be a while before flights are active there again.”

Jordan also re-opened its airspace after a closure following the volley of Iranian missiles towards Israel, the Jordanian state news agency said.

The latest disruptions are expected to deal a further blow to an industry already face curbs due to conflicts between Israel and Hamas, and Russia and Ukraine.

Source: Khaleejtimes