PARIS, Feb 28: Flights across the Middle East were being cancelled Saturday as several countries slammed their airspace shut after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates all announced at least partial closures of their skies in the hours after smoke began rising over Tehran and Iran began retaliatory attacks in the region.
Iranian missiles hit capital cities around the wealthy Gulf region, killing at least one, as witnesses reported seeing warplanes and projectiles streaking through the skies.
Carriers including Air France, Air India, Turkish Airlines, Norwegian, Air Algerie and Lufthansa announced widespread cancellations.
- Airspace closures -
- Iran swiftly closed its airspace as the strikes began.
"The airspace of the entire country is closed until further notice," announced the spokesman of Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation, quoted by the Tasnim news agency.
- Israel also closed its airspace to civilian flights, its transport minister, Miri Regev, announced.
Int'l flights affected as Pakistan closes its airspace
- Qatar's civil aviation authority said it had temporarily closed the Gulf state's airspace.
- Iraq shut down airspace, state media said.
- The United Arab Emirates said it was closing its skies "partially and temporarily".
- Syria closed part of its airspace in the south along the border with Israel for 12 hours, the Civil Aviation Authority said.
"The southern air corridors will be closed... from Saturday 12:00pm (0900 GMT) for 12 hours," the agency said in a statement.
- Jordan's air force was conducting drills to "defend the kingdom's skies," its military said.
- Kuwait closed its airspace.
- Flights cancelled -
- Qatar Airways: suspended all flights from Doha.
- Russia's air transport authority Rosaviatsia: all commercial flights to both Israel and Iran cancelled "until further notice".
- Air India: suspended flights to all destinations in the Middle East.
- Pakistan International Airlines: the flag carrier of Pakistan, which borders Iran, said it had suspended flights to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Doha and Kuwait.
- Turkish Airlines: suspended flights to 10 Middle East nations.
"Flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Jordan have been cancelled until March 2," spokesman Yahya Ustun said, while flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Oman were only suspended for the day.
- Air France: cancelled its Dubai, Riyadh and Beirut flights for Saturday, and flights to Tel Aviv until Sunday, saying it would provide schedule updates later.
- British Airways: not flying to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until March 4, flight to Jordanian capital Amman cancelled on Saturday.
- Swiss International Air Lines: suspending flights to and from Tel Aviv until March 7, a total of 14 trips.
The Swiss flag carrier was "also cancelling the flights from Zurich to Dubai scheduled for today and tomorrow," it said.
- Lufthansa: cancelled its flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil and Tehran until March 7.
The German airline group said in a statement that it and its subsidiaries were also suspending flights to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi until Sunday.
- Algerian carrier Air Algerie: suspending Saturday's flights to Amman, Dubai and Doha.
- Norwegian: suspending its flights to and from Dubai up until and including March 4.
"We will then assess if it's possible to resume flights," Charlotte Holmbergh, the budget carrier's communications director, told AFP.
- Flight tracking website FlightAware: more than 11,200 flights had been delayed globally and more than 1,000 cancelled worldwide as of 1230 GMT.
