US/Israel attack: Sky in turmoil, airlines record unprecedented scale of flight disruptions

• Over 9,600 flights cancelled, unprecedented
• Multiple nations shut airspace to civilian traffic

A massive military escalation in the Middle East has triggered a widespread airspace shutdown today, severely disrupting global aviation.

The crisis began following joint United States and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, including Tehran, which prompted immediate retaliatory missile attacks from Iran. The conflict has forced the closure of some of the world’s most critical air corridors and hubs.

Multiple nations have shut their skies to civilian traffic, creating a “no-go zone” stretching from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf.

Iran, Israel, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait have closed their entire airspaces until further notice.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has temporarily closed its skies, while Syria and Jordan have implemented significant restrictions and reported active military engagement of incoming projectiles.

Dubai International (DXB), the world’s busiest international airport, has suspended all operations indefinitely. This has paralysed the primary transit artery connecting Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Dubai is not just an airport. It is the single largest connecting hub between Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Every flight from Mumbai to London, from Singapore to Frankfurt, from Nairobi to New York that routes through the Gulf is now either cancelled, delayed, or burning extra fuel on thousand-mile detours around closed airspace.

IndiGo suspended flights to Almaty, Baku, Tashkent, and Tbilisi until March 28; a month of Central Asian connectivity was erased because Iranian missiles crossed the flight paths.

Major carriers, including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Air India, Turkish Airlines, and Lufthansa, have suspended dozens of routes. More than 9,600 flights have been delayed, and over 500 have been cancelled globally within the first few hours.

Airlines are being forced to reroute long-haul flights (e.g., Mumbai–London or Singapore–Frankfurt) thousands of miles around the restricted zones, significantly increasing fuel consumption and flight times.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued a high-risk alert for the entire region, warning of potential misidentification of civilian aircraft and spillover risks from missile activity.

As of 7:00 PM WAT on Saturday, the scale of aviation disruption is unprecedented, with the simultaneous closure of major global transit hubs and critical air corridors.

While the total number of suspended aircraft fluctuates as planes are grounded or diverted, current data from FlightAware and regional aviation authorities highlight the massive impact.

Over 500 flights have been officially cancelled worldwide in the first few hours of the crisis.

More than 9,600 flights have been delayed as airlines scramble to reroute around the closed airspaces of Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait.

Within the Middle East, flight operations have effectively ceased at major hubs. For example, Israel reports that approximately 40% of its daily scheduled flights are cancelled, while overall Middle Eastern flight volume has dropped by nearly 7% globally within 12 hours.

The closure of the “Big Three” Gulf hubs—Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi—has caused a massive “choke point” for East-West travel.

Flight tracking maps (Flightradar24) show a large “hole” in global traffic, with the following airspaces completely empty of civilian aircraft.

Airlines operating between Europe and Asia/India are now forced to fly significantly longer routes (up to 2+ hours extra) to avoid the conflict zone.

Some North American flights to India are now requiring unscheduled refuelling stops in cities like Vienna or Rome because they can no longer overfly Iraq or Iran.

Wole Shadare