FACTBOX - Airlines suspend flights due to Middle East tensions

Global airlines faced disruptions to flights on Monday after Iran’s missile and drone retaliation on Israel further narrowed options for planes navigating between Europe and Asia.

While Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon reopened their airspaces on Sunday, some routes continue to be affected.

Below airlines have provided an update:

Cancelled/Rerouted

Germany’s Lufthansa suspended its regular flights to and from Tel Aviv, Erbil and Amman up to and including Monday. Flights to Beirut and Tehran will remain suspended until at least Thursday.

KLM cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv until Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Dutch arm of Air France KLM said on Monday.

READ: Russian foreign minister calls Israeli strike on Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus ‘political killing’

Britain’s EasyJet, on Sunday, paused operations to and from Tel Aviv without providing a timeframe.

Wizz Air said it had cancelled most of its flights to and from Tel Aviv on Saturday through Monday.

Finnair suspended operations in Iranian airspace until further notice, which may cause longer flight times on flights from Doha. A spokesperson said the Finnish carrier will reroute over Egypt, resulting in delays of a “few minutes”.

A SAS spokesperson said flights between Copenhagen and Bangkok fly partially over the region, and one flight had to reroute on the night between Saturday and Sunday.

IAG-owned Iberia Express said on X social media it would cancel flights to Tel Aviv on Sunday and Monday.

United Airlines cancelled Sunday’s planned flight from Newark to Tel Aviv, it said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Air Canada warned of long delays and cancellations on its Israel flights, and cancelled flights to Tel Aviv on Monday and Tuesday.

Australia’s Qantas Airways said on Saturday it had temporarily rerouted flights between Perth and London.

China Southern Airlines cancelled Sunday’s flight to Iran, and Hainan Airlines said it is monitoring the situation and evaluating whether an upcoming flight to Israel can fly normally, Chinese business outlet, Yicai, reported.

Air India has cancelled its flights to and from Tel Aviv till April 20. The airline ran five weekly flights to the Israeli city, according to flight tracking platform, Flightradar 24.

Israel’s El Al Airlines cancelled 15 flights scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Smaller Israeli carrier, Arkia, said it was making adjustments to its flight schedule after initially postponing flights to Athens, Milan and Geneva.

Some Fly Dubai flights were affected by the closure of airspaces, according to a statement from the Emirati airline on state news agency, WAM.

Indian carrier, IndiGo, has rerouted its daily flights to Istanbul from Delhi and Mumbai, according to Flightradar 24. The company, however, did not issue a formal statement on the change. Both flights, which earlier flew over Iran, now fly through Central Asia, according to Flightradar 24.

Indian carrier, Vistara, co-owned by Tata and Singapore Airlines, said it is “making changes to flight-paths” of some of its flights, without providing further details.

Resumed

Etihad Airways cancelled services to Tel Aviv, Israel and Amman, Jordan on Sunday, but said it planned to operate scheduled passenger and cargo services between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv, Amman and Beirut from Monday. It warned “there may still be a risk of some knock-on disruption” through Monday.

Emirates Airlines resumed scheduled operations to and from Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq from Sunday afternoon, a spokesperson said.

Qatar Airways also resumed services to Amman, Beirut and Baghdad, it said in a post on X on Sunday.

READ: Iran says won’t hesitate in taking further defensive measures to protect ‘legitimate’ interests