Singapore:
Airlines around the world faced flight disruptions on Monday as Iran’s missile and drone attacks on Israel further narrowed options for aircraft flying between Europe and Asia.
Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drone attacks on Israel, most of which were shot down by Israel’s US-backed missile defense system, triggering chaos in the aviation industry.
At least a dozen airlines have had to cancel or reroute flights over the past two days, including Qantas, Lufthansa, United and Air India.
Mark Zee, founder of OPSGROUP, which monitors airspace and airports, said this is the most significant disruption to air travel since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.
“We have not had a situation since then where so many different airspaces were closed in such rapid succession, creating chaos,” Zee told Reuters, adding that disruptions could last several days.
The latest routing issue is a blow to an industry already facing a host of restrictions due to conflicts between Israel and Hamas, and Russia and Ukraine.
Zee said Iranian airspace is used by airlines flying between Europe and Asia, and these airlines will be restricted to two viable alternative routes, either via Turkey or via Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Israel closed its airspace on Saturday and reopened it on Sunday morning. Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon have also resumed flights over their territories.
Major Middle East airlines including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways said on Sunday they would resume operations in the region after canceling or rerouting some flights.
Independent aviation analyst Brendan Sobie said it was unclear whether the latest unrest would affect passenger demand, which remains strong despite ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
“If the political situation and conflict continues to escalate, then at some point people will be concerned about travel, but so far that hasn’t happened,” Sobie said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
