Airlines halt many Middle East flights after Israel hits Iran
Passengers stranded after flight cancellations at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport amid regional airspace shutdown. (AP pic)
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 US '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'.
US carrier Delta Air Lines said it is pausing service between New York's John F Kennedy airport and Tel Aviv through August 31 'in response to the ongoing conflict in the region.'
United Airlines, another US carrier, said service between its Newark, New Jersey hub and Tel Aviv is paused.
United arranged for 26 crew members who are on layover to return to the US on El Al.
One of United's Tel Aviv flights was cancelled Thursday night while the other returned to Newark, the company said.
Russia's aviation authority Rosaviatsiya instructed Russian airlines not to fly 'in the airspace of Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Iran' or use airports in Israel and Iran.
It said the restrictions will stay in place until June 26 or until further notice.
German airline group Lufthansa suspended flights to and from Tehran until July 31. It also extended the suspension of Tel Aviv flights for the same period.
Swiss airline, which is owned by Lufthansa, suspended its Tel Aviv flights until Oct 25 while those to Beirut were suspended until the end of July.
In the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi airport warned 'flight disruptions are expected through today (Friday)' as a result of the Israeli strikes.
Dubai's airport also announced flight delays and cancellations due to the closure of airspaces in Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Baghdad asks Iran to avoid strikes on US targets in Iraq: Official
BAGHDAD: Baghdad has asked Tehran not to target US interests on Iraqi soil, a senior security official said Saturday, as Washington's ally Israel and Iran traded blows, heightening tensions across the region. The government in Baghdad is a close ally of Tehran but also a strategic partner of Iran's arch-foe the US, which has some 2,500 troops in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition. Fearing being caught up in a regional escalation, the Iraqi government asked Tehran not to strike in its territory, a senior Iraqi security official told AFP. "The request was made. They promised us positive things," said the official, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The official added that Tehran has shown understanding with regards to Baghdad's request. Before the current escalation, which began early Friday, June 13, 2025, with a series of Israeli attacks on military and nuclear sites in Iran, Tehran had threatened to strike military bases hosting US forces in the region in the event of a conflict triggered by the possible failure of nuclear talks with Washington. Throughout the Gaza war, which began in October 2023 and has pitted Israel against Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas, Tehran-aligned armed factions have launched dozens of rocket and drone attacks targeting US forces in Iraq and in neighbouring Syria. Before the wave of attacks began, the US on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, announced it was reducing staffing at its Baghdad embassy, citing security reasons. Several pro-Iran groups in Iraq called on Friday, June 13, 2025, to accelerate the departure of US forces from the country, with the powerful Kataeb Hezbollah warning of "additional wars in the region." — AFP
Malay Mail
2 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Paris Air Show opens under cloud of war, Dreamliner crash and trade tensions
PARIS, June 14 — War, tariffs and the Air India crash will cast a shadow over the Paris Air Show as the aerospace industry's biggest annual gathering opens tomorrow. More than 2,400 companies from 48 countries are showing off their hardware at the week-long event at Le Bourget airfield on the outskirts of Paris. The sales rivalry between Airbus and Boeing usually drives the headlines as the world's top civilian planemakers announce many of their biggest orders at the air show. But this year's event 'is much more complex', said Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury, who also chairs the board of the Gifas association of French aerospace firms that organises the biennial event. The list of challenges is growing. Russia's war in Ukraine is stretching into its fourth year and there are fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East after Israel launched strikes on Iran on Friday, disrupting commercial flights across the region. The world economy is expected to slow sharply after US President Donald Trump launched his tariff blitz in April. And Boeing is facing a new crisis after Thursday's crash of a 787 Dreamliner operated by Air India in the city of Ahmedabad, which killed at least 265 people on board and on the ground. Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg cancelled plans to attend the Paris Air Show to focus on the investigation into the crash. Prior to the tragedy, Boeing had been making progress under a new leadership as the US company sought to restore trust after a series of safety and quality lapses. Boeing and its European rival, Airbus, have also been dealing with delays in delivering aircraft due to supply chain issues. Trade war US President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught has added to the issues facing the industry, which relies on a global supply chain. Trump imposed 10 per cent tariffs on US imports of goods from nearly every country in April, and steeper levies on dozens of countries could kick in next month. The Trump administration is also mulling whether to impose sector-specific tariffs of between 10 and 20 per cent on civil aircraft and parts. The heads of Airbus and Boeing have both called for tariffs to return to zero as had been the case since a 1979 agreement. 'The entire Western aerospace industry considers that would be the best that could happen,' said Faury. In a recent interview with trade journal Aviation Week, Ortberg warned that that tariffs are an added cost for Boeing, which has been financially weakened in recent years by production problems. We're 'not in a position to pass those (costs) along to our customers,' he told Aviation Week. 'I'm hopeful that, as each of these country-by-country negotiations resolve, those tariffs will go away in the long run.' The tariff problems come as the industry has yet to fully recover from effects of the Covid pandemic on its supply chain. Airbus is having trouble getting enough fuel-efficient engines for its top-selling A320 family of single-aisle jets, holding back the delivery of around 40 aircraft. The main bottleneck is a lack of toilets for widebody aircraft, said Christian Scherer, the head of Airbus's commercial aircraft division. Fighter jets The Paris Air Show is also about showing off the latest military hardware, at a time of conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. European countries are boosting defence budgets in the face of the Ukraine war and fears about Trump's commitment to the Nato alliance. 'The geostrategic environment has led us to bolster this aspect which was in the background in previous years,' said Gifas head Frederic Parisot. Some 75 companies related to weapons production will be participating at the show, with military jets, helicopters and drones to be displayed. Lockheed Martin's F-35 fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter will be featured, along with the Rafale produced by France's Dassault Aviation. Nine Israeli companies — fewer than in the past — are expected to have displays after a French court rejected a bid by NGOs to ban them over their alleged role in the Gaza conflict. — AFP
Malay Mail
2 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Israel's Iran strikes hint at bigger goal: Regime change
JERUSALEM, June 14 — Israel's surprise attack on Iran had an obvious goal of sharply disrupting Tehran's nuclear programme and lengthening the time it would need to develop an atomic weapon. But the scale of the attacks, Israel's choice of targets, and its politicians' own words suggest another, longer-term objective: toppling the regime itself. The strikes early on Friday hit not just Iran's nuclear facilities and missile factories but also key figures in the country's military chain of command and its nuclear scientists, blows that appear aimed at diminishing Iran's credibility both at home and among its allies in the region — factors that could destabilise the Iranian leadership, experts said. 'One assumes that one of the reasons that Israel is doing that is that they're hoping to see regime change,' said Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former senior official under President George W. Bush. 'It would like to see the people of Iran rise up,' he said, adding that the limited civilian casualties in the initial round of attacks also spoke to a broader aim. In a video address shortly after Israeli fighter jets began striking Iranian nuclear facilities and air defence systems, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appealed to the Iranian people directly. Israel's actions against Iran's ally Hezbollah had led to a new government in Lebanon and the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, he said. The Iranian people had an opportunity too: 'I believe that the day of your liberation is near. And when that happens, the great friendship between our two ancient peoples will flourish once again,' said Netanyahu. But despite the damage inflicted by the unprecedented Israeli attack, decades of enmity toward Israel — not only among Iran's rulers but its majority-Shi'ite population — raises questions about the prospect for fomenting enough public support to oust an entrenched theocratic leadership in Tehran backed by loyal security forces. Singh cautioned that no one knows what conditions would be required for an opposition to coalesce in Iran. Friday's assault was the first phase of what Israel said would be a prolonged operation. Experts said they expected Israel would continue to go after key Iranian nuclear infrastructure to delay Tehran's march to a nuclear bomb — even if Israel on its own does not have the capability to eliminate Iran's nuclear programme. Iran says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. The UN nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty. Israel's first salvoes targeted senior figures in Iran's military and scientific establishment, took out much of the country's air defence system and destroyed the above-ground enrichment plant at Iran's nuclear site. 'As a democratic country, the State of Israel believes that it is up to the people of a country to shape their national politics, and choose their government,' the Israeli embassy in Washington told Reuters. 'The future of Iran can only be determined by the Iranian people.' Netanyahu has called for a change in Iran's government, including in September. US President Donald Trump's administration, while acquiescing to Israel's strikes and helping its close ally fend off Iran's retaliatory missile barrage, has given no indication that it seeks regime change in Tehran. The White House and Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York also did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter. Ending nuclear programme beyond reach, for now Israel has much further to go if it is to dismantle Iran's nuclear facilities, and military analysts have always said it might be impossible to totally disable the well-fortified sites dotted around Iran. The Israeli government has also cautioned that Iran's nuclear programme could not be entirely destroyed by means of a military campaign. 'There's no way to destroy a nuclear programme by military means,' Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel's Channel 13 TV. The military campaign could, however, create conditions for a deal with the United States that would thwart the nuclear programme. Analysts also remain sceptical that Israel will have the munitions needed to obliterate Iran's nuclear project on its own. 'Israel probably cannot take out completely the nuclear project on its own without the American participation,' Sima Shine, a former chief Mossad analyst and now a researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, told reporters on Friday. While setting back Tehran's nuclear programme would have value for Israel, the hope for regime change could explain why Israel went after so many senior military figures, potentially throwing the Iranian security establishment into confusion and chaos. 'These people were very vital, very knowledgeable, many years in their jobs, and they were a very important component of the stability of the regime, specifically the security stability of the regime,' said Shine. 'In the ideal world, Israel would prefer to see a change of regime, no question about that,' she said. But such a change would come with risk, said Jonathan Panikoff, a former US deputy national intelligence officer for the Middle East who is now at the Atlantic Council. If Israel succeeds in removing Iran's leadership, there is no guarantee the successor that emerges would not be even more hardline in pursuit of conflict with Israel. 'For years, many in Israel have insisted that regime change in Iran would prompt a new and better day - that nothing could be worse than the current theocratic regime,' Panikoff said. 'But history tells us it can always be worse.' — Reuters
