Airlines weigh Middle East cancellations after US strikes
NEW YORK: 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 after the US attacked key Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran vowed to defend itself. 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 Zionist entity 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 was the first to announce a prolonged suspension of flights to Doha, with cancellations until June 30.
Leading Asian carrier Singapore Airlines, which described the situation as 'fluid', moved to cancel flights to Dubai through to Tuesday, having previously cancelled only its Sunday service. Air France KLM, IAG-owned Iberia and British Airways, and Kazakhstan's Air Astana 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. A spokesperson for Iberia said the carrier has not made a decision regarding later flights. BA said its teams were keeping the situation under review.
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. Amid missile and air strikes during the past 10 days, airlines have routed north via the Caspian Sea or south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Added to increased fuel and crew costs from these long detours and cancellations, carriers also face a potential hike in jet fuel costs as oil prices rise following the US attacks. 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. 'The most common transfer hubs that we're seeing requested are Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Johannesburg, or even direct between Perth and London,' said Graham Turner, CEO of Australia-based Flight Centre Travel Group.
Airspace risks
Proliferating conflict zones are an increasing operational burden on airlines, as aerial attacks raise worries about accidental or deliberate shoot-downs of commercial air traffic. Location spoofing and GPS interference around political hotspots, where ground-based GPS systems broadcast incorrect positions which can send commercial airliners off course, are also a growing issue for commercial aviation. Flightradar24 told Reuters it had seen a 'dramatic increase' in jamming and spoofing in recent days over the Gulf. SkAI, a Swiss company that runs a GPS disruption map, late on Sunday said it had observed more than 150 aircraft spoofed in 24 hours there.
Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information, said US attacks on Iran's nuclear sites could heighten the threat to American operators in the region. This could raise additional airspace risks in Gulf states like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it said. In the days before the US strikes, American Airlines suspended flights to Qatar, and United Airlines and Air Canada did the same with flights to Dubai. They have yet to resume.
While international airlines are shying away from the region, local carriers in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq are tentatively resuming some flights after widespread cancellations. Zionist entity 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. The country's Airports Authority said that airlines would resume outbound flights on Monday, with a limit of 50 passengers. Airline El Al on Sunday said it had received applications to leave the country from about 25,000 people in about a day.
BA cancels flights
Meanwhile, British Airways cancelled flights between London's Heathrow Airport and Dubai and Doha on Sunday following US strikes on Iran and fears that the situation in the Middle East could deteriorate. 'As a result of recent events, we have adjusted our flight schedule to ensure the safety of our customers and crew,' a BA spokesperson said, confirming that outgoing and incoming flights between Heathrow and Dubai or Doha were cancelled. A British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Dubai was diverted to Zurich on Saturday night, according to the tracking website Flightradar24.
The BA website showed no flights available for Sunday or Monday when AFP checked for those routes, but flights were still available from Tuesday onward. BA did not confirm when the flights would resume, but said it would keep the situation under review. The airline typically flies three times a day between London Heathrow and Dubai, and two times to the Qatari capital.
The US carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear sites overnight Saturday to Sunday after over a week of deadly missile exchanges between Zionist entity and Iran. Zionist entity closed its airspace after it launched a bombing campaign against Iran on June 13 - briefly reopening it on Sunday for repatriation flights. Several airlines last week cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran and other Middle East destinations, with Iraq, Jordan and Syria also closing their airspaces at the start of the latest fighting. Emirates and Qatar Airways were still running flights from Heathrow to Dubai and Doha. — Agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
4 hours ago
- Arab Times
Asian shares mostly gain as eyes turn to meetings at White House and Jackson Hole
BANGKOK, Aug 18, (AP): Asian shares were mostly higher Monday after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite edged back from their record levels while the Dow inched to a new record close. US futures were little changed as investors watched for developments in the Ukraine crisis following a summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that brought no breakthroughs. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% to 43.714.31, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.1% to 25,291.42. The Shanghai Composite index jumped 1% to 3,732.44. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.2% to 8,959.30. The Kospi in South Korea declined 1.5% to 3,177.28 on heavy selling of semiconductor makers like Samsung Electronics, whose shares fell 2.2%. SK Hynix lost 3.3% as investors fretted over the possibility of more US tariffs on computer chips. Trump was preparing to meet later Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Washington. The European vanguard were not included in Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday. They are seeking to present a united front in safeguarding Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow. An annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, of top central bankers later this week will be watched closely for hints about possible interest rate cuts from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. He is due to speak Friday at the economic policy conference. "While the official theme is labor markets, investors will scrutinize any hint of September policy direction, especially after last week's mixed inflation data,' Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote said in a commentary, adding that "any progress on Ukraine peace talks could push global equities higher still.' Expectations have been building that the Fed will cut interest rates at its next meeting in September, though mixed reports on the U.S. economy have undercut those bets somewhat. One report Friday said shoppers boosted their spending at U.S. retailers last month, while another said manufacturing in New York state unexpectedly grew. A third said industrial production across the country shrank last month, when economists were looking for modest growth.
Arab Times
21 hours ago
- Arab Times
Kellogg says it will remove artificial dyes from cereals by the end of 2027
NEW YORK, Aug 17, (AP): WK Kellogg Co. plans to remove artificial dyes from its breakfast cereals in the next two and a half years, according to the company and the attorney general of Texas. The maker of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks gave the timeline as U.S. food producers face increasing pressure from the U.S. government and consumers to phase out synthetic colorings from their products. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday that Kellogg had signed an agreement assuring his office that the Michigan-based company would "permanently remove toxic dyes" from its cereals by the end of 2027. Paxton launched an investigation earlier this year into whether Kellogg violated state consumer protection laws by continuing to use blue, red, yellow, green, and orange artificial dyes. Around the same time, U.S. health officials said that they would urge foodmakers to voluntarily work toward removing petroleum-based colors. Both Kellogg and General Mills, another major U.S. cereal maker, said they would. General Mills later joined Kraft Heinz, Nestle, Smuckers, and some other food manufacturers in announcing target dates for making all their products without artificial dyes. But Paxton's office said Kellogg was the first to sign a "legally binding' agreement. "Following months of investigating and negotiating, I'm proud to officially say Kellogg's will stop putting these unhealthy ingredients in its cereals,' the attorney general said in a statement. Details about the terms of the agreement Kellogg signed, which is legally known as an assurance of voluntary compliance, were not immediately clear. The company did not comment on it directly when reached by The Associated Press on Thursday, but said it appreciates "the opportunity to work collaboratively with the Texas AG's office and share their focus on health and wellness.' Kellogg also pointed to its earlier commitment to phase out FD&C dyes, which are synthetic additives that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved for use in food, drugs, and cosmetics. It said it already planned to stop launching new products with the dyes in January. "We have announced we are reformulating our cereals served in schools to not include FD&C colors by the 2026-27 school year,' Kellogg said in an emailed statement Thursday. By the end of 2027, "we will completely remove FD&C colors from the small percentage of our foods that contain them today.' According to Kellogg's website, 85% of the cereal the company sells contains no FD&C colors - and none of its products have included Red No. 3 for years. Federal regulators banned that dye from food in January. Synthetic dyes have long been used to make brightly colored cereals, drinks, candies, baked goods and even products like cough syrup. But health advocates have called for the removal of artificial dyes from foods, citing mixed studies indicating they can cause neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention issues, in some children. The FDA has maintained that its currently approved dyes are safe and that "the totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives.'
Kuwait Times
2 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Kuwait, China review progress on 22 joint development projects
Kuwait, China review progress on 22 joint development projects Mubarak Port, renewable energy, waste recycling among key projects KUWAIT: Minister of Public Works Dr Noura Mohammad Al-Mashaan chaired a meeting on Thursday of the Ministerial Committee for Following Up on the Executive Status of Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed between Kuwait and China. The meeting reviewed the latest progress on 22 development projects outlined in the MoUs between Kuwait and China, with particular focus on strategic areas such as the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port project, electric power and renewable energy development, low-carbon waste recycling systems, housing projects, wastewater treatment infrastructure, and the development of free and economic zones. The chair of the ministerial committee conveyed the leadership's strong interest and directives to closely monitor major development projects, stay updated on their progress, and accelerate implementation in coordination with Chinese government entities. Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs and member and rapporteur of the ministerial committee, Ambassador Sameeh Johar Hayat, indicated that meeting was part of regular follow-up on the executive status of the agreements and MoUs signed between the governments of Kuwait and China. He affirmed the continued commitment to taking all necessary measures and steps that would contribute to accelerating the implementation of major development projects in the country. The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and Minister of State for Housing Affairs Abdullatif Hamed Al-Meshari, Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy and Acting Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment Dr Sabeeh Abdulaziz Al-Mukhaizim, Director General of the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority Sheikh Dr Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Head of the Fatwa and Legislation Department Counselor Salah Ateeq Al-Majed, and Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs and member and rapporteur of the ministerial committee, Ambassador Sameeh Johar Hayat. — KUNA
