Middle East Airspace Shut Down After US-Israel Strikes on Iran Disrupt Global Flights

Airspace across large parts of the Middle East has been closed, throwing international travel into disarray following coordinated military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran on Saturday, February 28.

The US and Israel described the attacks as “pre-emptive” measures aimed at countering Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons ambitions. The strikes were followed by retaliatory missile launches from Iran, reportedly targeting Israel and other locations across the region.

In the immediate aftermath, several countries announced full or partial closures of their airspace to civilian traffic:

• Iran shut down its entire airspace indefinitely, grounding all civilian flights.
• Israel also closed its skies to commercial aircraft after launching the strikes.
• Iraq and Kuwait confirmed complete airspace closures.
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) implemented a temporary and partial shutdown as a precaution.
• Qatar and Bahrain suspended commercial flights amid heightened security concerns.
• Jordan and Syria restricted portions of their airspace for safety reasons.

Flight-tracking data showed vast stretches of the region nearly empty, as airlines rerouted aircraft or grounded services to avoid affected zones.

Major international carriers, including Air France, Air India, Turkish Airlines, Norwegian, Air Algerie, and Lufthansa, announced widespread cancellations.

According to flight-tracking platform FlightAware, more than 9,600 flights had been delayed globally and over 500 cancelled worldwide as of 10:30 GMT, highlighting the far-reaching impact of the escalating conflict on global aviation.