Coordinated US-Israeli military strikes on Iran on February 28 and Tehran’s retaliatory missile attacks on Gulf states have shut down airspace across at least eight countries, grounding flights at some of the world’s busiest aviation hubs and throwing the global travel industry into its worst crisis in years.
The Airspace Crisis
Here is what the travel sector needs to know.
Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE all closed or heavily restricted their airspace within hours of the first strikes, Reuters reported on February 28. Flightradar24 confirmed that Iranian skies were virtually empty of commercial traffic.
Of the 3,422 flights scheduled to Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan on February 28, aviation data firm Cirium recorded 232 cancellations — 6.7% of the total. The cancellation rate for flights to Israel alone reached 37.3%, followed by Jordan at 13.3% and Qatar at 10.1%, The National reported on February 28.
Dubai International Airport, which handles around 250,000 passengers daily, suspended all operations. Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, halted all flight services, citing “multiple regional airspace closures.” Qatar Airways confirmed the suspension of all flights to and from Doha, with an Edinburgh-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner forced to divert mid-air over Frankfurt and return to Scotland.
Which airlines are affected
The Lufthansa Group suspended all services to and from Tel Aviv through March 7. Turkish Airlines cancelled flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan until March 2, and all services to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Oman scheduled for February 28.
KLM brought forward its suspension of the Amsterdam-Tel Aviv route. Air Arabia cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq and other parts of the region. British Airways halted services to Tel Aviv, Bahrain and Amman. Air India and IndiGo grounded all Middle East flights citing airspace restrictions.
FlyDubai confirmed “some flights have been impacted” following the UAE’s partial closure of its airspace.
What this means for travellers
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) updated its travel advice on February 28, recommending against all travel to Israel and Palestine and urging British nationals in Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait to “immediately shelter in place.” The advice stated: “Remain indoors in a secure location, avoid all travel and follow instructions from the local authorities.”
At least 15 countries have told their citizens to leave Iran, including Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, Singapore and South Korea.
Travellers currently stranded at Gulf airports face a wait with no confirmed timeline for when airspace will reopen. Airlines including Qatar Airways said they had deployed extra ground staff at major airports to assist affected passengers. Carriers are expected to offer rebooking on to alternative routes once airspace reopens, though passengers should contact their airline directly.
For those with upcoming bookings to the Middle East, the immediate advice from industry bodies is to check airline websites for cancellation and rebooking policies before travelling.
The insurance gap
Standard travel insurance policies exclude cover for disruptions caused by acts of war, whether declared or undeclared. Natalie Ball, managing director of Comparetravelinsurance.com.au, has warned that passengers may bear the financial burden of cancelled flights, rerouted journeys and additional accommodation costs because war-related disruptions fall outside most policy terms.
Travellers who purchased “cancel for any reason” add-ons may have limited recourse, but most standard policies will not pay out for events linked directly to military conflict.
Those who booked after government travel warnings were already in place face an added problem: insurers treat destinations under existing advisories as “known perils,” meaning cover may be void from the date of purchase.
The cost to airlines
Gulf carriers have been rerouting flights around Iranian airspace for weeks at an estimated cost of $6,000 per flight hour, Aerospace Global News reported on February 27. Wizz Air flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi had already been making refuelling stops in Larnaca, Cyprus, or Thessaloniki, Greece, to compensate for longer routes.
Linus Bauer, head of UAE-based consultancy BAA & Partners, told The National that the strikes would mainly affect airlines through “operational inefficiency” rather than a collapse in demand — meaning longer and more costly rerouting, higher insurance and war-risk premiums, increased fuel costs and compounding operational disruption.
If the conflict remains short-lived, the damage is manageable. If it becomes entrenched, airlines face a prolonged period of route network fragility and ballooning costs that will be passed on to passengers in higher fares.
What travel agencies should do now
Travel agencies and tour operators with clients holding bookings to the Middle East need to act on three fronts. First, contact all affected clients proactively with clear information on cancellation rights and rebooking options, rather than waiting for customers to call. Second, monitor FCDO and equivalent government advisory pages for each affected country, as the situation is changing rapidly. Third, flag the insurance exclusion issue to clients early — many travellers assume their policies will cover war-related cancellations and will discover otherwise only when they try to claim.
Agencies should also review their own supplier contracts. Airlines and hotel groups in conflict zones may invoke force majeure clauses, which could limit refund obligations and leave agencies exposed to client claims.
Japan has already evacuated 21 citizens from Iran via Azerbaijan. New Zealand has deployed a Hercules military aircraft for evacuation operations. The scramble to repatriate foreign nationals will put further pressure on limited commercial seat availability once airspace reopens.
Emerging Travel News covers the business of travel across emerging and frontier markets. For the latest on how the Iran-US conflict is reshaping aviation and tourism, visit emergingtravelnews.com