Global airlines suspend flights on Middle East tensions

Global airlines changed flight routes over Iran, cancelled some flights, diverted others to alternate airports or returned planes to the points of departure on Friday as the Middle East region’s geopolitical tensions led to airspace and airport closures.

The ongoing geopolitical tensions have narrowed options for planes navigating between Europe and Asia. While Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon reopened their airspaces on Sunday, some routes continue to be affected.

Airlines cancel/reroute flights

KLM cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv until Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Dutch arm of Air France KLM said on Monday.

Finnair suspended operations in Iranian airspace until further notice, which may cause longer flight times on flights from Doha. A spokesperson said the Finnish carrier will reroute over Egypt, resulting in delays of a “few minutes”.

A SAS spokesperson said flights between Copenhagen and Bangkok fly partially over the region, and one flight had to reroute on the night between Saturday and Sunday.

IAG-owned Iberia Express said on X social media it would cancel flights to Tel Aviv on April 14 and 15.

Britain’s easyJet on Sunday paused operations to and from Tel Aviv. The carrier said in an emailed statement to Reuters it will temporarily pause operations to and from Tel Aviv until April 21.

Wizz Air said it had cancelled most of its flights to and from Tel Aviv on April 13 and 15.

North America

United Airlines cancelled its daily flight from Newark, New Jersey to Tel Aviv, Israel through May 2. A scheduled second flight from Newark to Tel Aviv has also been cancelled until May 18, it added.

Air Canada said it was pausing operations to and from Tel Aviv from April 14 until June 30. The company had previously warned of long delays and cancellations on its Israel flights.

Australia

Australia’s Qantas Airways said on April 13 it had temporarily rerouted flights between Perth and London.

Asia

China Southern Airlines cancelled its flight to Iran on April 14, and Hainan Airlines said it was monitoring the situation and evaluating whether an upcoming flight to Israel could fly normally, Chinese business outlet Yicai reported.

Air India has cancelled its flights to and from Tel Aviv till April 20. The airline ran five weekly flights to the Israeli city, according to flight tracking platform Flightradar 24.

Indian carrier IndiGo has rerouted its daily flights to Istanbul from Delhi and Mumbai, according to Flightradar 24. The company, however, did not issue a formal statement on the change. Both flights, which earlier flew over Iran, now fly through Central Asia, according to the flight tracking website.

Indian carrier Vistara, co-owned by Tata and Singapore Airlines, said it is “making changes to flight paths” of some of its flights, without providing further details.

The Middle East

Israel’s El Al Airlines cancelled 15 flights scheduled for April 13 and 14.

Smaller Israeli carrier Arkia said it was making adjustments to its flight schedule after initially postponing flights to Athens, Milan and Geneva.

Some flydubai flights were affected by the closure of airspaces, according to a statement from the Emirati airline on state news agency WAM.

Airlines resume flights

Germany’s Lufthansa extended a suspension of flights to Tehran until the end of the month, citing ongoing security concerns in the region.

Etihad Airways cancelled services to Tel Aviv, Israel and Amman, Jordan on April 14, but said it planned to operate scheduled passenger and cargo services between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv, Amman and Beirut from April 15.

Emirates Airlines resumed scheduled operations to and from Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq from the afternoon of April 14, a spokesperson said.

Qatar Airways also resumed services to Amman, Beirut and Baghdad, it said in a post on X on Sunday.

Read: Flydubai cancels flights to Tehran