Cancellations, delays, reroutes: the Middle East conflict is changing flying

The Advertiser

5 hours ago

Cancellations, delays, and reroutes have continued for Australian travellers despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
The Middle East is a vital transit point for flights from Australia with some carriers altering flight paths to remain a safe distance from any instability. Carriers have also offered free booking changes and cancellations.
The airspace around Iran and Iraq has been empty of air traffic since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, leading to widespread flight diversions.
On June 23, Qatar briefly also closed its airspace before Iran fired missiles at a US military base in the country.
Doha is second only to Dubai for passenger numbers in the Gulf.
University of Sydney professor Rico Merkert told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, that the closure wreaked havoc on travel plans.
"The incident at the US airbase in Qatar has resulted in the airspace of essentially the entire Middle East being shut for almost a day, which caused temporary chaos in the flight networks of the impacted airlines, especially Qatar Airways, Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, but also other international airlines flying to that region such as British Airways or Singapore Airlines," he said.
Professor Merkert said substantial commercial traffic goes through mega hubs in the Middle East, like Doha Hamad International Airport.
"These hubs are to passenger airlines what the Strait of Hormuz is to oil tanker operations, extremely critical," he said.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australians should seek updates from airlines and follow Smartraveller for the most up-to-date advice and warnings.
Smartraveller said "closure of airspace around transit hubs in the Middle East may impact flights globally".
"It may cause flight delays and cancellations," an alert said.
READ MORE: 'It depends where you live': how the Middle East conflict affects bowser prices
"Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East."
The travel advisory group urges people to contact their airline to confirm flights and check cancellation policies.
Australian Travel Industry Association CEO Dean Long said there was a higher level of anxiety amongst Australian travellers at the moment but airlines were not seeing cancellations above a normal rate.
He said it would take another couple of days for flights to return to a more normal rhythm after the closure of the Qatar airspace.
Virgin Australia's scheduled services to and from Doha, operated by Qatar Airways, are back to normal after the June 24 chaos, the airline said.
"We encourage guests scheduled to travel on Virgin Australia services between Australia and Doha in the coming days to monitor their flight information closely," a spokesperson told ACM.
"We are offering free booking changes or cancellations to guests who are booked on Virgin Australia's Doha services with onward connections in the coming days (up to and including 30 June 2025) and no longer wish to travel."
A spokesperson for Qantas told ACM it was monitoring the situation closely but there was "no material impact expected for today's Qantas flights between Australia and Europe".
"We have a number of flight path options that we utilise for our flights to Europe, and these are reviewed regularly based on factors including weather and security," a spokesperson said.
"We proactively alter our flight paths if needed based on changes in these conditions."
Cancellations, delays, and reroutes have continued for Australian travellers despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
The Middle East is a vital transit point for flights from Australia with some carriers altering flight paths to remain a safe distance from any instability. Carriers have also offered free booking changes and cancellations.
The airspace around Iran and Iraq has been empty of air traffic since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, leading to widespread flight diversions.
On June 23, Qatar briefly also closed its airspace before Iran fired missiles at a US military base in the country.
Doha is second only to Dubai for passenger numbers in the Gulf.
University of Sydney professor Rico Merkert told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, that the closure wreaked havoc on travel plans.
"The incident at the US airbase in Qatar has resulted in the airspace of essentially the entire Middle East being shut for almost a day, which caused temporary chaos in the flight networks of the impacted airlines, especially Qatar Airways, Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, but also other international airlines flying to that region such as British Airways or Singapore Airlines," he said.
Professor Merkert said substantial commercial traffic goes through mega hubs in the Middle East, like Doha Hamad International Airport.
"These hubs are to passenger airlines what the Strait of Hormuz is to oil tanker operations, extremely critical," he said.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australians should seek updates from airlines and follow Smartraveller for the most up-to-date advice and warnings.
Smartraveller said "closure of airspace around transit hubs in the Middle East may impact flights globally".
"It may cause flight delays and cancellations," an alert said.
READ MORE: 'It depends where you live': how the Middle East conflict affects bowser prices
"Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East."
The travel advisory group urges people to contact their airline to confirm flights and check cancellation policies.
Australian Travel Industry Association CEO Dean Long said there was a higher level of anxiety amongst Australian travellers at the moment but airlines were not seeing cancellations above a normal rate.
He said it would take another couple of days for flights to return to a more normal rhythm after the closure of the Qatar airspace.
Virgin Australia's scheduled services to and from Doha, operated by Qatar Airways, are back to normal after the June 24 chaos, the airline said.
"We encourage guests scheduled to travel on Virgin Australia services between Australia and Doha in the coming days to monitor their flight information closely," a spokesperson told ACM.
"We are offering free booking changes or cancellations to guests who are booked on Virgin Australia's Doha services with onward connections in the coming days (up to and including 30 June 2025) and no longer wish to travel."
A spokesperson for Qantas told ACM it was monitoring the situation closely but there was "no material impact expected for today's Qantas flights between Australia and Europe".
"We have a number of flight path options that we utilise for our flights to Europe, and these are reviewed regularly based on factors including weather and security," a spokesperson said.
"We proactively alter our flight paths if needed based on changes in these conditions."
Cancellations, delays, and reroutes have continued for Australian travellers despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
The Middle East is a vital transit point for flights from Australia with some carriers altering flight paths to remain a safe distance from any instability. Carriers have also offered free booking changes and cancellations.
The airspace around Iran and Iraq has been empty of air traffic since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, leading to widespread flight diversions.
On June 23, Qatar briefly also closed its airspace before Iran fired missiles at a US military base in the country.
Doha is second only to Dubai for passenger numbers in the Gulf.
University of Sydney professor Rico Merkert told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, that the closure wreaked havoc on travel plans.
"The incident at the US airbase in Qatar has resulted in the airspace of essentially the entire Middle East being shut for almost a day, which caused temporary chaos in the flight networks of the impacted airlines, especially Qatar Airways, Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, but also other international airlines flying to that region such as British Airways or Singapore Airlines," he said.
Professor Merkert said substantial commercial traffic goes through mega hubs in the Middle East, like Doha Hamad International Airport.
"These hubs are to passenger airlines what the Strait of Hormuz is to oil tanker operations, extremely critical," he said.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australians should seek updates from airlines and follow Smartraveller for the most up-to-date advice and warnings.
Smartraveller said "closure of airspace around transit hubs in the Middle East may impact flights globally".
"It may cause flight delays and cancellations," an alert said.
READ MORE: 'It depends where you live': how the Middle East conflict affects bowser prices
"Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East."
The travel advisory group urges people to contact their airline to confirm flights and check cancellation policies.
Australian Travel Industry Association CEO Dean Long said there was a higher level of anxiety amongst Australian travellers at the moment but airlines were not seeing cancellations above a normal rate.
He said it would take another couple of days for flights to return to a more normal rhythm after the closure of the Qatar airspace.
Virgin Australia's scheduled services to and from Doha, operated by Qatar Airways, are back to normal after the June 24 chaos, the airline said.
"We encourage guests scheduled to travel on Virgin Australia services between Australia and Doha in the coming days to monitor their flight information closely," a spokesperson told ACM.
"We are offering free booking changes or cancellations to guests who are booked on Virgin Australia's Doha services with onward connections in the coming days (up to and including 30 June 2025) and no longer wish to travel."
A spokesperson for Qantas told ACM it was monitoring the situation closely but there was "no material impact expected for today's Qantas flights between Australia and Europe".
"We have a number of flight path options that we utilise for our flights to Europe, and these are reviewed regularly based on factors including weather and security," a spokesperson said.
"We proactively alter our flight paths if needed based on changes in these conditions."
Cancellations, delays, and reroutes have continued for Australian travellers despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
The Middle East is a vital transit point for flights from Australia with some carriers altering flight paths to remain a safe distance from any instability. Carriers have also offered free booking changes and cancellations.
The airspace around Iran and Iraq has been empty of air traffic since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, leading to widespread flight diversions.
On June 23, Qatar briefly also closed its airspace before Iran fired missiles at a US military base in the country.
Doha is second only to Dubai for passenger numbers in the Gulf.
University of Sydney professor Rico Merkert told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, that the closure wreaked havoc on travel plans.
"The incident at the US airbase in Qatar has resulted in the airspace of essentially the entire Middle East being shut for almost a day, which caused temporary chaos in the flight networks of the impacted airlines, especially Qatar Airways, Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, but also other international airlines flying to that region such as British Airways or Singapore Airlines," he said.
Professor Merkert said substantial commercial traffic goes through mega hubs in the Middle East, like Doha Hamad International Airport.
"These hubs are to passenger airlines what the Strait of Hormuz is to oil tanker operations, extremely critical," he said.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australians should seek updates from airlines and follow Smartraveller for the most up-to-date advice and warnings.
Smartraveller said "closure of airspace around transit hubs in the Middle East may impact flights globally".
"It may cause flight delays and cancellations," an alert said.
READ MORE: 'It depends where you live': how the Middle East conflict affects bowser prices
"Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East."
The travel advisory group urges people to contact their airline to confirm flights and check cancellation policies.
Australian Travel Industry Association CEO Dean Long said there was a higher level of anxiety amongst Australian travellers at the moment but airlines were not seeing cancellations above a normal rate.
He said it would take another couple of days for flights to return to a more normal rhythm after the closure of the Qatar airspace.
Virgin Australia's scheduled services to and from Doha, operated by Qatar Airways, are back to normal after the June 24 chaos, the airline said.
"We encourage guests scheduled to travel on Virgin Australia services between Australia and Doha in the coming days to monitor their flight information closely," a spokesperson told ACM.
"We are offering free booking changes or cancellations to guests who are booked on Virgin Australia's Doha services with onward connections in the coming days (up to and including 30 June 2025) and no longer wish to travel."
A spokesperson for Qantas told ACM it was monitoring the situation closely but there was "no material impact expected for today's Qantas flights between Australia and Europe".
"We have a number of flight path options that we utilise for our flights to Europe, and these are reviewed regularly based on factors including weather and security," a spokesperson said.
"We proactively alter our flight paths if needed based on changes in these conditions."