Many ME flights remain suspended, PIA cancels flights

DUBAI/LAHORE: Airlines on Monday were weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights as a conflict, which has already cut off major flight routes, entered a new phase, foreign media reported.

Cancellations in recent days to typically resilient aviation hubs such as Dubai, the world’s busiest international airport, and Qatar’s Doha by international carriers show how aviation industry concerns about the region have escalated. The usually busy airspace stretching from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean has been largely empty of commercial air traffic for 10 days since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, as airlines divert, cancel and delay flights through the region due to airspace closures and safety concerns.

Finnair and Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) moved to cancel flights to Dubai through to Tuesday. Air France KLM (AIRF.PA), IAG-owned Iberia and British Airways (ICAG.L), and Kazakhstan’s Air Astana (AIRA.KZ), all cancelled flights to either Doha or Dubai both on Sunday and Monday. Air France also cancelled flights to Riyadh and said it would suspend flights to and from Beirut, Lebanon until Wednesday included.

Carriers are likely avoiding airports in UAE and Qatar and, to a lesser extent, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, due to concerns that Iran or its proxies will target drone or missile attacks on US military bases in these countries, aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions said.

With Russian and Ukrainian airspace also closed to most airlines due to years of war, the Middle East had become a more important route for flights between Europe and Asia. Australia-based Flight Centre Travel Group said it is getting a small number of customer requests to route journeys to Europe away from Middle Eastern hubs.

Israel is ramping up flights to help people return home as well as leave. A handful of so-called rescue flights landed in the country on Monday morning, with 24 in total scheduled for the day. Israeli airline El Al on Sunday said it had received applications to leave the country from about 25,000 people in about a day. Meanwhile, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced the suspension of its flight operations to several Gulf countries as a precautionary measure.

According to a PIA spokesperson, all flights from Pakistan to Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Dubai have been temporarily cancelled due to the emerging war-like situation in parts of the Gulf.