(DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES) — Authorities closed airspace and airlines halted flights across parts of the Middle East as the ongoing war between USA, Israel and Iran widened disruption risks for travelers and carriers moving through major hubs.
Israel, Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar have all closed their airspace to civilian traffic. Airlines and airports across the region moved quickly to cancel or suspend services, with the duration of restrictions uncertain.
Southern Syria added a separate, time-limited measure, with airspace along the country’s southern border with Israel closed for 12 hours. The combination of broad airspace shutdowns and shorter closures near contested areas forced airlines to rework routings on short notice.
Dubai International Airport, described as the world’s busiest airport for international flights, halted flights indefinitely along with Dubai World Central (Al Maktoum International Airport). Emirates temporarily suspended all operations to and from Dubai International Airport.
The stoppage in Dubai created immediate knock-on effects because Dubai functions as a major connection point between long-haul routes. With departures and arrivals halted, passengers with onward itineraries faced disrupted global connections as schedules unraveled beyond the closed airspace itself.
Tel Aviv also became a focal point for cancellations as multiple airlines grounded operations to and from the city, including Delta, United, Air France, KLM, Aegean, and FlyDubai. With several carriers pausing service at once, the impact spread through their broader networks, affecting travelers who had planned to connect via other hubs.
Doha’s Hamad International Airport faced a major connectivity shock after Qatar Airways Group temporarily canceled all flights to and from Doha due to airspace closures. The cancellations removed a key transfer option for passengers moving between regions on Qatar Airways’ network.
The wave of suspensions extended beyond the biggest hubs, with airlines suspending or canceling flights to numerous other Middle Eastern destinations. The listed locations included Beirut in Lebanon and Amman in Jordan, as well as Baghdad and Erbil in Iraq.
Tehran in Iran also appeared on the list of affected destinations. Kuwait City in Kuwait and Bahrain were included, along with Abu Dhabi and other UAE cities.
Damascus in Syria and Muscat in Oman were also among the destinations where airlines suspended or canceled flights. The breadth of affected cities showed how closures in a few airspaces can cascade into wide disruptions for routes that ordinarily cross or skirt them.
Airspace closures typically force airlines to detour, increasing flight times and narrowing the number of available routings. When several neighboring airspaces restrict civilian traffic at once, carriers can lose familiar corridors and struggle to find alternatives that still fit aircraft range, crew duty limits, and airport arrival slots.
Even when a flight can operate by taking a longer path, airlines can face operational bottlenecks as aircraft and crews end up out of position. That can lead to cancellations that continue after restrictions change, as carriers work to restore normal rotations.
Travelers moving through the region can also experience uneven conditions from one airport to another, even within the same day. Cancellations can drive rebooking queues, missed connections, and shifting departure times as airlines reassign aircraft, crews, and gates while airports manage sudden swings in demand.
The concentration of closures across Israel, Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar also complicated planning for flights that do not originate or end in those countries but still pass nearby. Disruption can extend to airports used as alternates for diversions, and to nearby destinations that normally rely on steady flows of connecting passengers.
Among the biggest immediate impacts, Dubai International Airport’s shutdown removed capacity at a major international junction. The halt at Dubai World Central compounded the constraint in the same emirate, limiting options for airlines that might otherwise shift some operations between airports.
Emirates’ decision to suspend all operations to and from Dubai International Airport reflected the constraints created by the halt. With operations paused, passengers booked on Emirates services through Dubai faced cancellations tied directly to the airport stoppage.
In Tel Aviv, the list of airlines grounding operations included major U.S. carriers Delta and United, European carriers Air France and KLM, and other airlines including Aegean and FlyDubai. With multiple carriers taking similar action, the reduction in service to and from Tel Aviv became another driver of wider network disruption.
In Doha, Qatar Airways Group’s temporary cancellation of all flights to and from Hamad International Airport underscored how quickly an airspace shutdown can translate into a full stop at a hub. Because Doha commonly functions as a transfer point, cancellations can affect passengers whose journeys span multiple continents.
Airlines also set different suspension windows, reflecting varying assessments of operational feasibility, safety planning, and the practical challenge of restarting routes once aircraft and crews disperse across networks. The listed suspension periods showed a mix of multi-day pauses and shorter destination-specific timelines.
Wizz Air suspended all flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman until March 7. The range of destinations covered both conflict-linked locations and key airports used as entry points to the broader region.
Lufthansa suspended flights to multiple Middle East destinations until March 7, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi flights suspended until March 1. The split timeline signaled that airlines may not treat all routes equally, even within the same region, as they plan for different operating constraints.
Turkish Airlines suspended flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Jordan until March 2. British Airways suspended flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until the following week.
Such staggered windows can reflect the complexity of restarting service, even for airlines that want to resume as soon as possible. Carriers must align crew positioning, aircraft rotations, and overflight permissions, while also accounting for the operating status of destination airports and the availability of arrival and departure slots.
Rolling extensions and partial resumptions commonly occur in fast-moving disruptions, as some routes restart before others depending on aircraft location and operational readiness. A return of service on one city pair does not automatically mean normal schedules elsewhere, especially when multiple countries keep airspace closed to civilian traffic.
For travelers, the immediate effect often depends on whether the itinerary relies on a hub that has halted flights outright, such as Dubai International Airport, or on an airline that has grounded specific routes such as those to Tel Aviv. Even when an airline has not canceled every service, disrupted routings can still lead to delays or last-minute changes.
Passengers connecting through Doha can also face abrupt changes because Qatar Airways Group temporarily canceled all flights to and from Hamad International Airport due to airspace closures. When a hub stops, itineraries that rely on timed transfers can fall apart quickly, leaving travelers to seek alternatives that may have limited availability.
The listed regional airport impacts suggested that disruption reached across the eastern Mediterranean and Gulf corridors, touching Beirut, Amman, Baghdad, Erbil, Tehran, Kuwait City, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Damascus, and Muscat. With airspace closures affecting Israel, Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, airlines that normally thread routes through or near these areas faced immediate constraints.
The separate 12-hour closure of airspace in southern Syria along the country’s southern border with Israel added another variable near the Israel border. Even time-limited measures can complicate planning if they overlap with peak departure waves or if airlines must design routings that avoid areas with changing restrictions.
Travelers often see disruption play out unevenly as airports recover at different speeds once airlines begin to restore schedules. Missed connections can persist because aircraft may arrive late on detoured routes, while crews can hit duty-time limits, forcing additional cancellations and knock-on delays.
Airlines and airports typically rely on a stream of operational notices to inform passengers of cancellations, resumed flights, and rebooking options. Travelers can also face short-notice schedule changes as carriers adjust to airspace closures, airport capacity limits, and the challenge of moving aircraft back into planned rotations.
With multiple countries closing airspace to civilian traffic and airlines grounding service to major cities including Dubai and Tel Aviv, passengers across a wide range of routes face continued uncertainty. Even after airspace reopens, cancellations can persist because aircraft and crews remain displaced and airports can face slot constraints as schedules restart.
Dubai International Airport and Hamad International Close as Tel Aviv War Escalates
The Middle East is facing severe aviation disruption as Israel, Iran, Iraq, the UAE, and Qatar closed their airspace to civilian traffic. This has forced the suspension of operations at major hubs like Dubai and Doha, impacting global connectivity. Airlines like Emirates and Lufthansa have canceled flights through early March, citing safety concerns and the logistical impossibility of navigating the restricted corridors safely.
