European airlines suspend West Asia flights amid rising US-Iran tensions

By Leen Al-Rashdan

 

Several European airlines have suspended flights to and over countries in the Middle East as tensions between the US and Iran raise concerns of wider disruption across the Persian Gulf.  

Air France cancelled flights between Paris and Dubai on Friday and Saturday, temporarily suspending service to the emirate “due to the current situation in the Middle East,” the airline said in a statement. 

 

KLM also halted flights to Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia and Tel Aviv until further notice. It said in a statement that as a precaution, it is currently avoiding airspace over several Gulf countries, as well as Iran, Iraq and Israel.

 

The cancellations underscore how quickly geopolitical tensions can spill over into civil aviation. The disruption followed comments from President Donald Trump that the US has deployed naval assets to the Middle East, renewing concerns he may follow through on threats to attack Iran over the government’s violent crackdown on protesters.

 

Several flights to Dubai operated by Luxembourg flag carrier Luxair, British Airways and Dutch low-cost carrier Transavia were also cancelled over the weekend, according to the Dubai International Airport website and data from flight tracking site Flightradar24. 

 

Deutsche Lufthansa AG said it canceled its Tehran flights till March 28 and will operate routes to and from Tel Aviv and Amman, Jordan during the daytime till the end of the month.

 

British Airways earlier this month temporarily halted flights to Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

 

Several European and American carriers had paused operations to Gulf countries in June, before Iran fired missiles at a base in Qatar. The missile strikes forced Qatar and surrounding countries to close their airspace, causing widespread disruption for international airlines.