Airline operations faced fresh upheaval on 23 June – with many carriers cancelling or rerouting flights – as the conflict in the Middle East escalated further.
Several Middle Eastern nations abruptly imposed airspace closures following Iran’s attack on a US military base in Qatar in response to Washington’s bombing of several key nuclear sites in Iran a day earlier. The move disrupted operations at several key Middle East hubs, including Doha and Dubai.
Qatar was the most obviously affected, temporarily closing its airspace following the attack, forcing national carrier Qatar Airways to suspend all operations late on 23 June. Media reports suggest over 20 Qatar Airways flights bound for Doha were diverted amid the brief airspace closure.
Hours later, the Oneworld carrier, whose operations account for the bulk of passenger traffic at Doha’s Hamad International airport, confirmed it was reinstating flights as Qatar reopened its airspace.
“As operations resume, we anticipate significant delays to our flight schedule,” the carrier adds.
In Dubai, the main operator Emirates confirmed on 23 June that “a number of” its flights were rerouted, but that there were no diversions.
“After a thorough and careful risk assessment, Emirates will continue to operate flights as scheduled, using flight aths well distanced from conflict areas,” the carrier states.
Compatriot Etihad Airways, meanwhile, cancelled several flights to other Middle East nations, including to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, citing “disruption” to its services.
The Abu Dhabi-based carrier says: “This remains a highly dynamic situation, and further changes or disruption may occur at short notice.”
Airlines outside of the Middle East were also increasingly impacted by the ongoing crisis, which has already led to airlines rerouting their flights away from Iranian airspace since 13 June, when Israel began strikes on Iran.
Air India said it would be suspending all flights to the Middle East, Europe, and the east coast of North America until further notice.
“Our India-bound flights from North America are diverting back to their respective origins and others are being diverted back to India or re-routed away from the closed airspace,” the airline states.
IndiGo suspended its flights to several Middle East cities until early 24 June, while SpiceJet warned of possible cancellations over the next few days.
Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore Airlines said it would be cancelling flights between Singapore and Dubai through 24 June over security concerns.
Qantas, which operates nonstop flights between Perth and Europe, diverted two such flights – Perth-London and Perth-Paris – on 23 June, following the closure of Qatari airspace. The former diverted to Singapore, while Qantas’ flights to Paris were turned back to Perth.
The Australian carrier says it expects some of its European flights to operate “as planned” on 24 June. These include flights from Sydney to London (via Singapore), and Perth-Rome and Perth-London.
In Europe, carriers like Iberia, Finnair and the Air France-KLM Group suspended operations to either Doha or Dubai, or both, also citing security concerns.
The growing crisis in the Middle East adds to growing operating uncertainty for airlines – particularly those with flights between Europe and Asia.
With Russian and Ukrainian airspace already closed for more than three years amid an ongoing war, airlines have had to reroute via the Middle East. However, the available flight paths are increasingly narrowing, amid the growing conflict in recent months
