Airlines divert from gulf region as Iran crisis reverberates

Global airlines felt the brunt of the escalating conflict in the Middle East, as missile exchanges forced carriers to navigate around a wide swath of territory, tear up flight schedules and turn around aircraft midflight.

Qatar suspended flights over its airspace late Monday, shortly before Iran launched a missile strike at a U.S. air base in the country around 7:45 p.m. local time. Qatar’s move effectively halted operations of its namesake airline and forced dozens of flights from carriers including Etihad, Emirates and FlyDubai out of position. Other Persian Gulf states followed suit, including Bahrain and Kuwait.

Flights in and out of Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest hub, were temporarily suspended and westbound routing is not currently available, according to an internal memo from Emirates Airlines seen by Bloomberg News. Representatives for Emirates did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The United Arab Emirates also closed its airspace as a precautionary measure, according to a person familiar with the matter. However, flights were arriving and departing from the UAE after more than ten aircraft were diverted during the closure, according to a post on social media site X by Flightradar24, an aviation data provider.

Dozens of Gulf-bound flights on several commercial airlines were diverted en route to safer airports in India, Belgium and Egyptian capital Cairo, including those from London and Zurich to destinations like Dubai and Qatar, based on data from aviation consultant Cirium.

Worsening conflict

The disruptions are the most consequential yet for air traffic in the region. Qatar Airways runs a global operation out of its Doha hub, connecting more than 170 destinations around the world. Turkish Airlines suspended service to Gulf destinations including Dubai, home to one of the world’s busiest airports, while other airlines, including Singapore Airlines Ltd. and British Airways canceled flights.

The latest developments signify a widening of the war between Israel and Iran after U.S. President Donald Trump joined the fight on Sunday by attacking Iran’s nuclear sites. The dramatic escalation, and Iran’s retaliation, risk disrupting economies that had previously been shielded from the fallout of regional hostilities.

Qatar and nearby Dubai have spent decades turning themselves into global aviation powerhouses, meaning that any narrowing or outright closure of air service creates a serious knock-on effect for the travel industry. Doha and Dubai are only a short distance from Iran, sitting on the other side of Persian Gulf and not far from the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping artery for the world’s oil supplies that’s become a flashpoint in the growing conflict.

Dubai is home to Emirates, the world’s largest international carrier. Hamad International Airport in Doha, in the capital of Qatar, is among the ten largest, operating more than 500 flights a day. Together, they handle much of the traffic within the Middle East and are transfer points for long-haul travel between Asia, Europe and North America. They had avoided previous suspensions that were confined to countries surrounding Israel and the skies over nations where Iran’s missiles pass.

Retaliation

Prior to the U.S. strikes on Sunday, Tehran had threatened to hit U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf should Washington get involved, and close down Hormuz. The Al Udeid base in Qatar hosts the regional headquarters for the U.S. Central Command, which oversees the American military in the Middle East.

It’s the largest U.S. base in the region, while Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

“A widening conflict around the Strait of Hormuz could threaten to disrupt global airline traffic, particularly if flight restrictions to key transfer hubs in Qatar and the UAE were to occur,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Eric Zhu and George Ferguson wrote in an earlier note. Excluding local carriers, Turkish Airlines, British Airways and Indian airlines including IndiGo are among the most exposed, they wrote.

Effects on airlines

Singapore Airlines has halted flights to Dubai from the city-state since Sunday over security concerns.

British Airways diverted a Dubai-bound flight to Zurich after it reached Saudi Arabia’s airspace in the early hours of Sunday, Flightradar24 data showed. Another jet returned to Heathrow after going as far as Egypt.

The London-based carrier earlier halted routes to Bahrain through the end of the month due to operational constraints and airspace restrictions.

Asian airlines have also taken steps to safeguard passengers and crews. Japan Airlines Co. said earlier it would have flights between Tokyo’s Haneda airport and Doha avoid airspace above the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Air India Ltd. will progressively avoid the use of certain airspace over the Persian Gulf in the coming days.

Even before the U.S. strikes, several American and European airlines had paused flights to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar after Israel started bombarding Iran.

The skies over large swaths of the Middle East have been restricted several times during the past twenty months, making flying through Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran difficult.

The closures have forced airlines to cancel flights on profitable routes, spend more on jet fuel and pass through countries they usually avoid like Afghanistan, as they avoid dangerous skies. They have also led to hundreds of disrupted flights and thousands of stranded passengers.

Repatriation

Israel has begun to allow outbound flights after halting them since its latest attacks on Iran starting June 13. Tel Aviv is expected to let about 1,000 passengers per day leave the country from Ben Gurion Airport and Haifa.

The U.K. is organizing a chartered flight for British nationals who want to leave Israel, while Germany sent a military transport plane to extract citizens and France said it also plans repatriation flights.

“Everything depends on how long this lasts,” Ziad Daoud, chief emerging markets economist at Bloomberg Economics, said of the fallout from the flight cancellations. “If there was a stoppage of flights for a day or two, there won’t be an impact, but if this is a prolonged thing then obviously it’s an issue.”