US and Israeli Attacks on Iran Prompt Flight Cancellations to Middle East

Multiple global airlines suspended flights across the Middle East on Saturday, 28 February 2026, following attacks launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.

According to Reuters, flight tracking data showed airspace over Iran became nearly empty as Israel announced it had struck Iranian targets and US military forces carried out a series of attacks against locations in the country. Iran subsequently responded with a barrage of missiles.

Israel, Iran, Iraq and Jordan closed their airspace following the strikes. Based on Flightradar24 mapping, aircraft from global airlines chose to avoid these regions.

Several Qatar Airways flights scheduled to depart on Saturday morning circled over Kuwait or Saudi Arabia before returning to Doha airport, where they continued to hold pattern offshore.

Russia’s Ministry of Transport stated that Russian airlines had suspended flights to Iran and Israel. Air France cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut. Iberia cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, whilst Wizz Air suspended flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman on the same date.

Oman Air suspended all flights to Baghdad due to developments in the region. Parts of the United Arab Emirates also closed their airspace as a precautionary measure.

“Due to the temporary closure of several airspaces in the region on 28 February, some Flydubai flights were affected,” said a United Arab Emirates airline spokesman, quoted via Reuters.

KLM, the Dutch airline, accelerated suspension of its Amsterdam–Tel Aviv service, cancelling flights scheduled for that day following the Iran strikes. The carrier announced that flights would be halted from Sunday, 1 March 2026, with only one flight to Tel Aviv scheduled for 28 March 2026.