Planes remain grounded as Middle East conflict rages

• Region’s airspace stays closed
• 92% Bahrain, 70% UAE flights cancelled
• UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain airports hit

Escalating conflict in the Middle East is paralysing one of the world’s most important aviation corridors, grounding Gulf super-connectors and forcing European carriers to redraw global flight paths.

Airspace over Iran, Israel, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria and the UAE remained closed on Sunday morning, with a partial closure in Saudi Arabia. 

Jordanian and Lebanese airspace is open but with limited traffic.

The disruption follows coordinated strikes by the US and Israel on Iran on Saturday, which killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

These were met with retaliatory missile and drone attacks targeting US military bases across the Gulf, including in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

The Emirates airline has suspended all flights to and from Dubai until 3pm UAE time on Monday March 2, as has its sister carrier Flydubai. 

Etihad Airways has halted operations to and from Abu Dhabi until 2am on March 2, while Qatar Airways said flights to Doha remain suspended until midnight on Sunday due to the closure of Qatari airspace.

Dubai Airports confirmed that operations at Dubai International Airport (DXB), the world’s busiest international hub, and Al Maktoum International Airport are suspended “until further notice”. 

Hundreds of people have been stranded as a result, but authorities have confirmed that the cost of staying in hotels as the situation is resolved will be borne by the country.

DXB, Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain International Airport and Kuwait International Airport suffered direct or indirect hits from drones or the debris of intercepted missiles. One person was killed in Abu Dhabi and several more suffered injuries across the four facilities.

Saudi Arabia’s Saudia has cancelled flights to and from several regional cities until late Monday, while Oman Air has suspended multiple Gulf routes.

European airlines are also retreating. Wizz Air has suspended flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman until next Saturday. Virgin Atlantic halted Heathrow-Riyadh services on Sunday after cancelling Dubai flights over the weekend. 

German airline Lufthansa has suspended flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil, Dammam and Tehran until and including March 8, it said on Sunday, extending cancellations already in place.

It also said airspace over Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam and Iran was closed until and including March 8. Flights to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi were suspended until and including March 4 and UAE airspace was not to be used until and including March 4.

British Airways has scrapped Tel Aviv and Bahrain services until Wednesday March 4 and warned that flights between Heathrow and Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai or Tel Aviv could face disruption for days.

According to Flightradar24 a new “Notice to Airmen” (Notam) – an official alert to pilots about airspace restrictions or safety hazards – had extended closure of Iranian airspace until at least 8.30am on March 3. The website shows Europe-Asia traffic diverting via Saudi Arabia or the Caucasus.