Thousands of flights were cancelled on Monday as the fallout from US-Israeli strikes on Iran continued to disrupt air travel across the Middle East, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded. Gulf airports and airlines have suspended normal operations until at least 10:00 GMT on Tuesday, though limited special services were expected to depart from the UAE on Monday evening.
Major Middle Eastern airports, including Dubai International Airport—the world's busiest international hub—remained closed for a third consecutive day. According to aviation analysts Cirium, nearly 1,700 flights to the Middle East had been cancelled by Monday morning, though the figure is likely an underestimate due to limited data from Iran and the UAE. The tracking platform FlightAware reported almost 2,800 cancellations on Saturday and 3,156 on Sunday.
The three major Gulf carriers—Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways—have been severely affected. Emirates and Etihad suspended flights to and from their hubs until late Tuesday morning, though both airlines planned to resume selected flights on Monday evening. Qatar Airways has suspended operations as long as Qatari airspace remains closed. Airspace over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar was virtually empty on Monday, according to Flightradar24.
The disruption has spread beyond the Middle East. Air India cancelled flights from Delhi, Mumbai, and Amritsar to major cities in Europe and North America. British Airways cancelled Monday's Larnaca service, while easyJet cancelled return flights between Paphos and Larnaca and the UK after a drone hit the RAF base in Akrotiri. Virgin Atlantic cancelled Dubai flights from London until Wednesday and is avoiding Iraqi airspace, affecting flight times to Asia.
Shares in travel companies fell sharply, with Tui dropping 9% and British Airways owner IAG down 5%. Tui said it would contact customers due to travel to the Middle East in the coming week, while British Airways offered free delays for flights to the Gulf, Israel, or Jordan until 15 March. Some carriers are offering refunds or free changes for affected travellers.
The prolonged closure of skies—more than 24 hours—and the shutdown of all three major Gulf transit hubs is unprecedented, analysts said. Crew and pilots are scattered worldwide, complicating the resumption of flights. For the wealthy, private jets from Riyadh to Europe are available at up to $350,000 (£260,000), with Saudi Arabia seen as the only viable exit route from the region.
