Israel reopened its airspace for a limited time on Sunday, and on Monday it opened further flight operations to facilitate tens of thousands of travelers stranded due to mass cancellations caused by a quickly escalating conflict in the Middle East brought on by U.S. strikes on Iran.
This conflict has caused massive airspace shutdowns in air corridors over Iran, Iraq, Syria and Israel. airlines flying between Europe and Asia are facing significant delays and diversions. Currently, most of this regional airspace remains empty due to the conflict, and routing of flights has moved north over the Caspian Sea, or farther south through supplemental routes over Egypt and Saudi Arabia. These rerouted flights, whether north or south, create longer time and distance estimates for these new routes, which means that the total costs for these flights will go up.
As a result of this of prolonged uncertainty or conflict, Air France KLM, British Airways and Singapore Airlines have cancelled flights to several primary Middle Eastern destinations including Dubai, Doha and Riyadh. British Airways advised that their passengers on flights operating to Dubai and Doha until June 24 will be able to rebook without penalty for routes up to July 6. Singapore Airlines advised that they are monitoring the status of future flights to Dubai because of the “fluid” security situation.
El Al, Israel’s national airline, has stated that it received over 25,000 applications from people to leave Israel in one day. In response to this spike, El Al announced it will begin operating rescue flights to eight other locales worldwide starting Monday. Each flight has a maximum capacity of 50 passengers and with that is due to security reasons.
Israel’s Airports Authority stated that on Monday there will be 24 daily rescue flights to various worldwide communities. Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv has been conducting rescue landings for a total of 6 hours on Sunday, while Haifa Airport in northern Israel has also involved a window to open. This is also to help stranded Israeli citizens abroad and to assist nearly 40,000 foreign tourists who are in Israel and looking to get out. Many are reported to exiting through Jordan’s Amman and Aqabaa borders, Egypt, or by boat to Cyprus.
The situation developed just following U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, and heightened regional security alerts. OPSGROUP’s Safe Airspace warned on their site that the strikes create increased flight risk to the Middle East, especially for U.S. operators. While no threat has been levied against civilian aircraft, the advisory disclosed that Iran would retaliate by using proxies like Hezbollah and this could put commercial aviation in harm’s way.
The ripple effects of U.S. actions are already becoming obvious. American and United Airlines suspended all flights to Qatar and Dubai ahead of the attacks. Airlines are also watching the potential for higher oil prices, as any spike in oil could increase their fuel costs, which could also impact the industry and global aviation.
The suspension of airspace in the Middle East will cause airlines to rethink route structures, as well as increase uncertainties in the routes modified from those familiar. Post the closure of Russian and Ukrainian airspace due to war, there are fewer safe ground routes to transit as many Middle Eastern services have become important for global aviation. Transit routes from Europe to Asia using the Middle East as an important transit space now have operational and security challenges.
At the same time Israeli authorities are continuing with coordination of international rescue. The civil aviation community is working with embassies and the airline operators to work on movements of tourists and nationals, as well as recognizing and informing travelers of travel advisories and the status of flights.
With the geopolitical crisis developing, the aviation sector is preparing for updates and changes. Airlines will continue to adjust routes as they deem necessary and cancel flights and/or offer waivers against changes until there is a better understanding of the region.
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