Airlines weigh Middle East cancellations after US strikes
American, European carriers cancel flights to Gulf • BA cancels London flights
NEW YORK: Airlines on Monday were weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights as a conflict which has already cut off major flight routes entered a new phase after the US attacked key Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran vowed to defend itself. Cancellations in recent days to typically resilient aviation hubs such as Dubai, the world's busiest international airport, and Qatar's Doha by international carriers show how aviation industry concerns about the region have escalated.
The usually busy airspace stretching from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean has been largely empty of commercial air traffic for 10 days since Zionist entity began strikes on Iran on June 13, as airlines divert, cancel and delay flights through the region due to airspace closures and safety concerns. Finnair was the first to announce a prolonged suspension of flights to Doha, with cancellations until June 30.
Leading Asian carrier Singapore Airlines, which described the situation as 'fluid', moved to cancel flights to Dubai through to Tuesday, having previously cancelled only its Sunday service. Air France KLM, IAG-owned Iberia and British Airways, and Kazakhstan's Air Astana all cancelled flights to either Doha or Dubai both on Sunday and Monday. Air France also cancelled flights to Riyadh and said it would suspend flights to and from Beirut, Lebanon until Wednesday included. A spokesperson for Iberia said the carrier has not made a decision regarding later flights. BA said its teams were keeping the situation under review.
Carriers are likely avoiding airports in UAE and Qatar and, to a lesser extent, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, due to concerns that Iran or its proxies will target drone or missile attacks on US military bases in these countries, aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions said. With Russian and Ukrainian airspace also closed to most airlines due to years of war, the Middle East had become a more important route for flights between Europe and Asia. Amid missile and air strikes during the past 10 days, airlines have routed north via the Caspian Sea or south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Added to increased fuel and crew costs from these long detours and cancellations, carriers also face a potential hike in jet fuel costs as oil prices rise following the US attacks. Australia-based Flight Centre Travel Group said it is getting a small number of customer requests to route journeys to Europe away from Middle Eastern hubs. 'The most common transfer hubs that we're seeing requested are Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Johannesburg, or even direct between Perth and London,' said Graham Turner, CEO of Australia-based Flight Centre Travel Group.
Airspace risks
Proliferating conflict zones are an increasing operational burden on airlines, as aerial attacks raise worries about accidental or deliberate shoot-downs of commercial air traffic. Location spoofing and GPS interference around political hotspots, where ground-based GPS systems broadcast incorrect positions which can send commercial airliners off course, are also a growing issue for commercial aviation. Flightradar24 told Reuters it had seen a 'dramatic increase' in jamming and spoofing in recent days over the Gulf. SkAI, a Swiss company that runs a GPS disruption map, late on Sunday said it had observed more than 150 aircraft spoofed in 24 hours there.
Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information, said US attacks on Iran's nuclear sites could heighten the threat to American operators in the region. This could raise additional airspace risks in Gulf states like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it said. In the days before the US strikes, American Airlines suspended flights to Qatar, and United Airlines and Air Canada did the same with flights to Dubai. They have yet to resume.
While international airlines are shying away from the region, local carriers in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq are tentatively resuming some flights after widespread cancellations. Zionist entity is ramping up flights to help people return home as well as leave. A handful of so-called rescue flights landed in the country on Monday morning, with 24 in total scheduled for the day. The country's Airports Authority said that airlines would resume outbound flights on Monday, with a limit of 50 passengers. Airline El Al on Sunday said it had received applications to leave the country from about 25,000 people in about a day.
BA cancels flights
Meanwhile, British Airways cancelled flights between London's Heathrow Airport and Dubai and Doha on Sunday following US strikes on Iran and fears that the situation in the Middle East could deteriorate. 'As a result of recent events, we have adjusted our flight schedule to ensure the safety of our customers and crew,' a BA spokesperson said, confirming that outgoing and incoming flights between Heathrow and Dubai or Doha were cancelled. A British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Dubai was diverted to Zurich on Saturday night, according to the tracking website Flightradar24.
The BA website showed no flights available for Sunday or Monday when AFP checked for those routes, but flights were still available from Tuesday onward. BA did not confirm when the flights would resume, but said it would keep the situation under review. The airline typically flies three times a day between London Heathrow and Dubai, and two times to the Qatari capital.
The US carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear sites overnight Saturday to Sunday after over a week of deadly missile exchanges between Zionist entity and Iran. Zionist entity closed its airspace after it launched a bombing campaign against Iran on June 13 - briefly reopening it on Sunday for repatriation flights. Several airlines last week cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran and other Middle East destinations, with Iraq, Jordan and Syria also closing their airspaces at the start of the latest fighting. Emirates and Qatar Airways were still running flights from Heathrow to Dubai and Doha. — Agencies
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