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.
This came as Iran began an airborne attack against Israel in retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven Revolutionary Guards officers.
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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”.
“This is likely to cause some disruption and delay to a number of flights over the course of the day. This is a developing situation and the airline is continuously monitoring security and airspace updates,” a spokesperson for the airline told Khaleej Times in a statement.
“Etihad Airways flights only operate through approved airspace. Safety is always our highest priority and we would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so.”
The carrier advised customers to check the status of their flight on its website.
Flydubai said some of its flights have been impacted by the temporary closure “of a number of airspaces in the region”.
In a statement to Khaleej Times, the carrier said it is in “direct contact” with passengers whose travel plans have been affected.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation and will make any amendments to our schedule accordingly,” the spokesperson added, apologising “for the inconvenience caused”.
Drone attack
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed Sunday that a drone and missile attack was under way against Israel. It said
“dozens” of missiles and drones had been fired at “specific targets”.
Israel, Iraq and Lebanon have shut off their airspaces as a precautionary measure as tensions soared. Egypt said its air defences were on “maximum alert”.
In a statement posted on X, Kuwait Airways said it is diverting all incoming and outgoing flights away from “areas of tension” in view of the security situation in the region.