Over 700 flights cancelled
New Delhi: The global aviation industry is reeling from a massive wave of disruptions on Sunday as the escalation of conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran has forced the closure of multiple airspaces.
With over 700 flights cancelled and hundreds more rerouted, one of the world’s most critical air corridors is virtually offline. What began as localized restrictions has expanded into a regional state of emergency, affecting every major carrier from Dubai’s Emirates to Air India and European giants like Lufthansa.
A sharp escalation in hostilities involving the United States, Israel and Iran sent shockwaves through global aviation today, grounding hundreds of flights and forcing airlines to suspend operations across key Gulf hubs.
Airspace over parts of Iran and neighbouring corridors has either been closed or declared unsafe. This has severely disrupted one of the world’s busiest aviation corridors linking Europe, Asia and Africa via the Gulf.
According to aviation data cited in regional reports More than 1,800 flights were cancelled on Saturday, and thousands of passengers were stranded or rebooked across the globe. Key transit hubs like Dubai International Airport are operating under partial disruption. Major UAE carriers temporarily paused operations to ensure passenger safety during the peak of regional tensions.
Indian aviation was hit particularly hard on Sunday. The Ministry of Civil Aviation of India had earlier warned that around 444 international flights could be cancelled on Sunday due to the ongoing restrictions over Middle Eastern and Gulf airspace. Local carriers including Air India, IndiGo, Akasa Air and Air India Express extended their suspension of westbound and Middle Eastern services as a precautionary measure.
By late evening, airports like Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport logged close to 98 cancellations, including key long-haul routes to London, New York, Chicago and European cities that normally transit Gulf airspace.
Domestic airports were placed on operational alert, some declared they had no capacity for additional diverted aircraft until early Sunday due to a lack of parking space.