Gulf airspace closures cancel thousands of flights as Israel-US-Iran conflict widens

DUBAI — The widening conflict between Israel, the United States and Iran has triggered sweeping airspace closures across the Gulf, disrupting global air traffic through some of the world’s busiest transit hubs and canceling thousands of flights.Over the past two decades, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha have developed into major global transfer points linking Europe and the Americas with Asia, Africa and Oceania.The current restrictions have disrupted that role, creating ripple effects across long-haul networks while increasing operational and insurance costs for airlines worldwide.In the early hours of Feb. 28, Israel and the US launched joint airstrikes on targets in Iran.Tehran responded by targeting US military bases and logistical facilities in several Arab countries, prompting widespread airspace restrictions across the region.Airspace over Iran, Iraq, Israel, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria was largely closed as of Monday, according to aviation tracking platform Flightradar24. Parts of the UAE and Saudi Arabia remained only partially open.European Union Aviation Safety Agency declared a “high risk to civil aviation” across the region.Thousands of flights were grounded. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said more than 2,000 flights to the Middle East were canceled on March 1 alone, representing roughly half of scheduled operations that day.FlightAware data showed nearly 2,800 cancellations on Saturday and more than 3,400 flights scrapped across the region’s seven main airports on Sunday.Industry publication FlightGlobal described the shutdown of major Gulf hubs — including Dubai International, the world’s busiest airport for international traffic — as the most severe aviation disruption since the COVID-19 pandemic.Dubai International handled 92.3 million passengers in 2024. Emirates carried 43.6 million passengers in the 12 months prior to the conflict.Together with Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, the three carriers typically manage around 90,000 transit passengers per day through their hubs, according to Cirium.All three major Gulf carriers initially suspended operations as closures took effect.Emirates and Etihad have paused most scheduled services, operating only a limited number of special flights, including repatriation services, while awaiting safe airspace clearance.Qatar Airways has temporarily suspended flights to and from Doha following the closure of Qatar’s airspace, saying services will resume once the Civil Aviation Authority confirms it is safe to reopen. An update is expected on March 4.Israel’s national airline El Al also canceled scheduled flights due to the closure of Israeli airspace.The disruption has extended beyond the Gulf. Airlines across Asia and Europe have suspended or rerouted services to avoid affected airspace.Air India halted flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Amritsar to major European and North American destinations and suspended several Middle East routes.Singapore Airlines and its low-cost subsidiary Scoot canceled Middle East flights through March 7, while Lufthansa Group suspended services to several regional cities until March 8. Air France and KLM also paused operations to select Gulf destinations.According to The Guardian, approximately 115,000 Australian travelers were affected.FreightWaves reported that Qatar Airways was unable to move about 13 tons of daily cargo capacity due to the suspension.Rerouted services are adding between 30 and 90 minutes to certain routes, contributing to higher fuel and maintenance costs, which have risen 39% over the past three years, according to Insurance Business.