Airspace closures through the Middle East grounded and diverted flights on Saturday as Iran launched drone attacks on Israel.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday, an attack that may trigger a wider regional conflict.
Israel said it was closing schools nationwide while Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon announced they were temporarily closing their airspace.
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UAE flights affected
Some flights to and from the UAE have been impacted as multiple countries in the region closed their airspaces temporarily. Two Flydubai flights that took off for Amman, Jordan, and Tel Aviv, Israel, had to return to Dubai as a result.
Emirates airline cancelled its Dubai-Amman flight scheduled for Sunday. Dubai-based airline in a statement announced the cancellation and rerouteing of some flights.
“Emirates advises customers departing or arriving at Dubai International Airport to check their flight status on emirates.com for the latest information regarding their flights.”
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said it is re-routing a number of its European and North American flights on Sunday, April 14, to overfly Saudi Arabia and Egypt following “notification of the closure of airspace over Israel, Jordan and Iraq”.
Other airlines
Air France’s Israel service was cancelled for Sunday and British Airways cancelled its two flights to Tel Aviv on Sunday and scrubbed a flight to Amman. Lufthansa also cancelled its service to Israel.
United Airlines called off its Newark to Tel Aviv flight on Saturday after Israel closed its airspace.
Australia’s Qantas Airways said on Saturday it had temporarily rerouted flights between Perth and London on concerns about the Middle East, as expectations rose of an attack by Iran on Israel.
Qantas said no flights between Perth, the capital of Western Australia state, and London had been paused or cancelled but that flights on the route were operating on an adjusted flight path via Singapore.
Jordan
Jordan has declared a state of emergency and announced temporary closure of its airspace late on Saturday to all incoming, departing and transit aircraft.
Interference in Jordanian air traffic affected Jordan’s GPS system prompting planes in the area to use alternative navigation systems, Haitham Misto, the chairman of Jordan’s Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission, said on Al-Mamlaka.
The Jordanian Civil Aviation Regulatory Authority (CARC) has announced the extension of the closure of Jordanian airspace until 11 a.m. local time.
Lebanon
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Works and Transport has announced an immediate and temporary closure of the nation’s airspace in response to the ongoing regional developments. The decision, effective from 1:00 AM to 7:00 AM on Sunday, April 14, encompasses all incoming, outgoing, and transit flights over Lebanon.
As a result, all air traffic at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport has been suspended for the duration mentioned. The Lebanese authorities have promised to review the airspace closure continuously and adjust measures based on the developments.
Iraq
Iraq has announced the closure of its airspace, coinciding with the Iranian strike against Israel.
The closure is effective from 11:30 pm local time (2030 GMT) on Saturday to 05:30 a.m. local time (0230 GMT) on Sunday, the Iraqi Aviation Authority said, indicating that this suspension might be prolonged if necessary.
Egypt
Egypt’s air defense is on alert, Egyptian military and security sources said late on Saturday.
EgyptAir has decided to suspend its flights to and from airports of Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon due to regional tensions and in light of the closure of airspace in these countries, a statement by Egypt’s national carrier said.
According to the statement, the suspension is until further notice.
Israel
Israel’s airport authority said its airspace will be closed from 12:30 a.m. Sunday after the army reported Iran launched drones at Israel directly from its territory.
“In accordance with the guidance of the security system, starting at (12:30 am) the airspace of the state of Israel will be closed to international and domestic flights,” the statement said.
Israel El Al Airlines has cancelled 15 flights scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, the carrier said on Saturday as hostilities with Iran surged and Israel closed its airspace as a precaution.
Kuwait
Kuwait Airways said early on Sunday it decided to divert all incoming and outgoing flights away from “areas of tension” in view of the security situation in the region and concern for the safety of its passengers.