Airlines halt many Middle East flights after Israel hits Iran

PARIS: Global airlines on Friday cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran and other Middle East destinations, or rerouted planes, as airspaces were shut off following Israeli strikes on Iran.

Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Syria closed their airspaces after Israel hit military and nuclear facilities in Iran. Israel said Tehran launched drones in retaliation. Air India´s New Delhi-Vienna and Mumbai-London flights were about to enter Iranian airspace when Israel launched its attack, forcing the planes to turn back to their origin, according to aircraft tracker Flight Aware.

Its London-New Delhi flight had just entered Iranian airspace and was rerouted over Iraq before arriving in India one hour late, according to Flight Aware. Air India diverted or called back a total of 16 flights between India and London and cities in Canada and the United States “due to the emerging situation in Iran”.

Emirates, the Middle East´s largest airline, cancelled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran after Israel launched the strikes. Qatar Airways, the country´s national carrier and one of the Middle East´s largest, said it had “temporarily cancelled flights to Iran and Iraq due to (the) current situation in the region”.

Air France said it was suspending its flights to and from Tel Aviv “until further notice” following the closure of Israeli airspace. “Air France is closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East in real time,” a spokesman for the French airline told AFP, adding that “the safety of its customers and crews is its absolute priority”.