UAE airlines cancel, divert flights as several countries shut airspace amid rising regional tensions

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

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, data from tracking service FlightRadar24 showed.

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

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:

Another Dubai-based airline Flydubai also announced the cancellation of its October 2-3 flights to Iran, Iraq, Israel and Jordan.

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

"This is a developing situation and we continue to monitor closely and amend our flight schedule accordingly," a Flydubai spokesperson said.

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.

It cancelled its service to Israel's capital Tel Aviv on Wednesday amidst the regional developments. Among the affected Tel Aviv flights affected are:

Etihad also warned that the airspace closures 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.”

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.

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