SEOUL/LONDON – Airlines steered clear of much of the Middle East on Friday after Israeli attacks on Iranian sites forced carriers to cancel or divert thousands of flights in the latest upheaval to travel in the region.

Proliferating conflict zones around the world are becoming an increasing burden on airline operations and profitability, and more of a safety concern. Detours add to airlines’ fuel costs and lengthen journey times.

Israel on Friday said it targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.

Israel Air Defense Stands at High Alert

Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed and Israel’s air defense units stood on high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran.

Israel’s El Al Airlines said it had suspended flights to and from Israel as did Air France KLM and budget carriers Ryanair and Wizz.

Wizz said it had re-routed flights affected by closed airspace in the region for the next 72 hours. Israeli airlines El Al, Israir and Arkia were moving planes out of the country.

FlightRadar data showed airspace over Iran, Iraq and Jordan was empty, with flights directed towards Saudi Arabia and Egypt instead.

About 1,800 flights to and from Europe had been affected so far on Friday, including approximately 650 cancelled flights, according to Eurocontrol.

With Russian and Ukrainian airspace closed due to war, the Middle East region has become an even more important route for international flights between Europe and Asia.

The escalation of the Middle East conflict knocked shares in airlines around the world with British Airways owner IAG down 4.6%, Delta Air Lines down 4%, and Ryanair off 3.5%. A surge in oil prices after the attack also stirred concerns about jet fuel prices.

Many global airlines had already halted flights to and from Tel Aviv after a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels towards Israel on May 4 landed near the airport.

Iranian airspace has been closed until further notice, according to state media and notices to pilots.

Air India, which flies over Iran on its Europe and North American flights, said several flights were being diverted or returned to their origin, including ones from New York, Vancouver, Chicago and London.

Germany’s Lufthansa said its flights to Tehran have been suspended and that it would avoid Iranian, Iraqi and Israeli airspace for the time being.

Emirates also cancelled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iran while Qatar Airways axed flights to Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Iraq early on Friday closed its airspace and suspended all traffic at its airports, Iraqi state media reported.

Eastern Iraq near its border with Iran contains one of the world’s busiest air corridors, with dozens of flights crossing between Europe and the Gulf, many on routes from Asia to Europe, at any one moment.

Jordan, which sits between Israel and Iraq, also closed its airspace several hours after the Israeli campaign began.

Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said it had instructed Russian airlines to stop using the airspace of Iran, Iraq, Israel and Jordan until June 26. It said flights to airports in Iran and Israel were also off limits for civil carriers. FlyDubai has cancelled 22 flights scheduled for June 13-14 to Dubai from 10 Russian airports, Russia’s RIA news agency said, citing Rosaviatsia.

Flight Diversions

“Traffic is now diverting either south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia, or north via Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan,” according to Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East since October 2023 led to commercial aviation sharing the skies with short-notice barrages of drones and missiles across major flight paths – some of which were reportedly close enough to be seen by pilots and passengers.

Six commercial aircraft have been shot down unintentionally and there have been three near misses since 2001, according to aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions.

Last year, planes were shot down in Kazakhstan and in Sudan. These incidents followed the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 and of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 en route from Tehran in 2020.

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(Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Seoul and Joanna Plucinska in London; Additional reporting by Steven Scheer in Jerusalem, Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt, Alexander Marrow in London; editing by Jamie Freed and Jason Neely)