Global airlines have either suspended or significantly reduced flights to and from the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies, following weekend US strikes on Iranian nuclear enrichment sites.
These US strikes, conducted overnight Saturday to Sunday, build upon over a week of deadly missile exchanges between Israel and Iran, leading to widespread disruption in air travel across the region.
Various European carriers have adjusted their schedules. British Airways, for instance, cancelled Sunday flights between London’s Heathrow and Dubai/Doha, though normal operations were largely scheduled for Monday, with some evening cancellations.
Air France has halted flights to Saudi Arabia and the UAE until at least Tuesday and extended its Paris-Tel Aviv route suspension until July 14. Its low-cost arm, Transavia, has ceased Paris-Beirut flights until June 30 and Paris-Tel Aviv flights until September 7.
The Lufthansa Group, encompassing Swiss, Austrian, and ITA airlines, has suspended Middle East flights until June 30, with Amman and Erbil, Iraq, routes suspended until July 11, and Tel Aviv and Tehran flights until July 31. This group is also actively avoiding the airspace of countries involved in the conflict.
Elsewhere in Europe, Greece’s Aegean Airlines has paused Tel Aviv flights until July 12 and its Amman, Beirut, and Erbil routes until June 28. Turkish airline Pegasus has scrapped flights to Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon until June 30 and to Iran until July 30, while Turkish Airlines has no flights available to Baghdad, Damascus, and Tehran before July 1. Lastly, Finnair has confirmed suspending flights to Doha and is similarly avoiding Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, and Israeli airspace.
North American airlines have also implemented changes and offered flexibility for passengers. United Airlines has warned that flights to and from Dubai scheduled between June 18 and July 3 may be affected, providing no-fee ticket changes under specific conditions due to the ongoing unrest.
The same rebooking flexibility applies to Tel Aviv flights between June 13 and August 1, allowing customers to opt for other major European cities. Air Canada has temporarily suspended its daily non-stop service from Toronto to Dubai starting June 18, a suspension that could be extended, though travel via a European stopover on a partner airline remains possible.
American Airlines is allowing customers to change their bookings to Doha without fees for travel originally scheduled between June 19 and July 20.
Asian carriers are likewise impacted, with Singapore Airlines, for example, cancelling eight flights to Dubai—two per day—from Sunday through Wednesday.
These broad cancellations and adjustments underscore the significant ripple effect of the escalating Middle East conflict on global air travel.
