Airlines Reroute or Cancel Flights After U.S. Hits Iran

Airlines across the Middle East are reevaluating their operations because the U.S. military strike on Iranian nuclear sites has caused numerous flight cancellations and route modifications due to escalating safety risks.

British Airways together with Finnair and Singapore Airlines and Air France have either stopped flights or changed routes to Doha, Dubai, Riyadh and Beirut. Finnair has suspended all flights to Qatar until June 30 while Singapore Airlines continues to suspend flights to Dubai until Tuesday.

The airspace covering Iran and Iraq together with parts of the eastern Mediterranean experienced major traffic reduction following Israel's June 13 strikes. Airlines have chosen two alternative flight paths which take planes either through the Caspian Sea to the north or through Egypt and Saudi Arabia to the south thus increasing fuel expenses and requiring additional staff.

According to consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions airlines choose to bypass airports in UAE, Qatar and surrounding nations because they fear Iranian attacks on U.S. military bases. The Middle East functioned as a critical transportation route for European-Asian flights because Russian and Ukrainian airspace remained inaccessible to most airlines.

The combination of increasing oil prices with flight rerouting will increase expenses for airlines. Flight Centre receives numerous requests from customers to skip all Middle Eastern stopovers during their journeys.