Overview
- More than 52,000 scheduled flights to or from the Middle East were canceled through March 13, according to Cirium data.
- Jordan, Israel, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates closed their airspace after initial U.S.-Israeli strikes, triggering widespread schedule cuts.
- Emirates continues near-normal operations via ESCAT, which since March 1 has allowed pre-authorized commercial flights to use tightly monitored routes and altitudes with corridor capacity cited at 48 flights per hour.
- Rivals have scaled back or paused services, with Etihad running a reduced schedule since March 6, Qatar Airways offering minimum service, Air France extending its Dubai and Riyadh suspensions to March 20, and Lufthansa and KLM halting Gulf hub flights until at least March 28.
- Jet-fuel prices have jumped from about €750 to €1,700 per tonne, prompting fare increases, including a €50 long‑haul rise by Air France‑KLM from March 11, as bookings to the region slump and refunds increase.