Iran reopened its national airspace late Wednesday to early Thursday after the suspension triggered by fears of potential U.S. military action, disrupted regional flight activity and forced airlines to cancel, reroute or delay some flights.
The airline disruptions come following a notice issued by the US virtual embassy in Iran advising its nationals in the country to travel via land to Turkey or Armenia.
Airlines start to cancel flights
The following update is based on reports from various news agencies and outlets.
Turkish Airlines suspended all flights between Istanbul and several Iranian cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz and Tabriz, from Friday through Sunday.
Pegasus Airlines cancelled most flights from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport to Iranian destinations, including Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz and Tabriz, through the weekend.
Qatar Airways, likewise, has cancelled its routes from Doha to the Iranian capital until Saturday, as well as Mashhad and Shiraz until further notice.
Passenger planes travelling with Emirates from Dubai will also face disruption on Friday and Saturday, although some services remain operational for the time being.
flydubai, which operates flights from Dubai to several Iranian cities, cancelled services to Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, Isfahan, Tehran, Kerman, Lar, Mashhad and Shiraz on Friday. Flights on Saturday were also heavily disrupted, with only partial resumptions.
Austrian Airlines extended the suspension of flights between Vienna and Tehran until at least 21 January.
Lufthansa and ITA Airways also announced changes. Lufthansa said it would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice. The airline added that it would operate only daytime flights to Tel Aviv and Amman from Wednesday through Monday next week so that crew would not have to stay overnight. The airline also warned that some services could be cancelled as a result.
Italian carrier ITA Airways, in which Lufthansa Group is now a major shareholder, said that it would similarly suspend night flights to Tel Aviv until Tuesday next week.
A flight by Aeroflot bound for Tehran returned to Moscow after the closure, according to Flightradar24 data.
The United States already prohibits all U.S. commercial flights from overflying Iran and there are no direct flights between the countries.
Scoot cancelled its flights to and from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 15 January and “Singapore Airlines and Scoot do not fly over Iranian airspace,” a spokesperson said, adding that SIA Group’s “top priority is the safety of our customers and staff, and they will continue to closely monitor the situation in the Middle East, and will adjust our flight paths as needed.”
Air India has at least three US-bound flights – two from Delhi to New York and Newark, and one from Mumbai to New York – and warned of delays on some Europe services. Iranian airspace is a key corridor for Air India flights to the United States and Europe. With this option unavailable, aircraft are being routed over Iraqi airspace, significantly increasing flight duration.
Other Indian airlines such as IndiGo and SpiceJet stated that their international flights are or may be also impacted.
Given that the airspace over Iran remains open, FlightRadar24 said that, “it is up to the operator and its safety department to assess the risk of overflying a sector”.
Travellers are advised to check their flight status through the airlines’ websites, apps or 24/7 reservation helplines.
