Airspace across large parts of the Middle East was closed and global travel disrupted on Saturday, February 28, following coordinated military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran.
Washington and Tel Aviv described the operation as a “pre-emptive” strike aimed at preventing Tehran from advancing its nuclear weapons ambitions. Iran responded with missile attacks reportedly targeting Israel and several countries across the region.
In the immediate aftermath, multiple Middle Eastern nations announced full or partial airspace closures:
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Iran shut down its entire airspace indefinitely, grounding all civilian flights.
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Israel closed its skies to commercial aircraft after carrying out the strikes.
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Iraq and Kuwait confirmed complete airspace closures.
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The United Arab Emirates imposed a temporary and partial shutdown of its airspace as a precaution.
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Qatar and Bahrain suspended commercial flights amid heightened security concerns.
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Jordan and Syria also restricted sections of their airspace for safety reasons.
Flight-tracking data showed large stretches of Middle Eastern airspace nearly empty, as airlines diverted or grounded aircraft in response to the escalating conflict.
Major carriers including Air France, Air India, Turkish Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Air Algérie, and Lufthansa announced widespread cancellations.
According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, more than 9,600 flights had been delayed globally and over 500 cancelled worldwide as of 10:30 GMT.