PARIS: The biggest disruption to global air transport since the Covid pandemic continued on Sunday, with thousands of flights affected and busy Middle Eastern hubs including Dubai and Doha shuttered as Iran lashed out after US-Israeli strikes. Israel and Iran traded new attacks on Sunday, after Tehran hit both the Dubai International Airport — the world’s busiest for international traffic — and Kuwait’s main airport during its retaliatory strikes one day earlier.
Middle East and North Africa airlines
Gulf carriers Emirates and Etihad cancelled 38 per cent and 30 per cent of their flights respectively, Cirium said. Qatar Airways suspended all flights from Doha. It cancelled 41 per cent of total flights, according to aviation analytics company Cirium. Syria Air, the country’s national carrier, cancelled all flights until further notice. Egypt’s national airline, EgyptAir, announced the suspension of its flights to cities across the Middle East.
European airlines
Russia’s air transport authority Rosaviatsia said all commercial flights to Israel and Iran were cancelled “until further notice”. Turkish Airlines cancelled flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Jordan until March 2. Air France cancelled its Dubai, Riyadh, Beirut and Tel Aviv flights, extending its earlier suspension. British Airways said it was not flying to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until March 4, and cancelled flights to the Jordanian capital Amman on Saturday. Germany’s Lufthansa, which comprises Swiss and ITA Airways, cancelled its flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil and Tehran until March 7.
North America airlines
Delta Air Lines suspended New York-Tel Aviv flights until Sunday. American Airlines “temporarily suspended” Doha-Philadelphia flights.
United flights to Tel Aviv are cancelled until Monday, and flights to Dubai until Sunday. Air Canada said it cancelled flights from Canada to Israel until March 8 and to Dubai until March 3.
Asia-Pacific airlines
India’s two largest private carriers IndiGo and Air India suspended flights to all destinations in the Middle East. Pakistan International Airlines, the flag carrier of the country that borders Iran, said it had suspended flights to the UAE, Bahrain, Doha and Kuwait. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific suspended flights to Dubai and Riyadh.
Singapore Airlines and Singapore’s Scoot cancelled six flight routes in the region until the end of Sunday, local media reported. Philippine Airlines flights from Manila to Doha, Riyadh to Manila, and Dubai to Manila were cancelled on Saturday, as well as one Doha-Manila flight on Sunday.
Africa airlines
Ethiopian Airlines cancelled its flights to Amman, Tel Aviv, Dammam, and Beirut. Kenya Airways has suspended its flights to Dubai and Sharjah until further notice.
