How airlines across the world are responding to Middle East tensions

Airlines across the world are rerouting and cancelling services due to the conflict in the Middle East in what has been described as the biggest disruption to air travel since 9/11 . This includes budget airline easyJet cancelling all flights to Israel until at least October 27. The situation, which shot up the global agenda after Hamas ‘ October 7 attack in Israel has recently been escalated by Iran ‘s failed drone and missile attack on April 13.

The intervention caused ‘chaos’ in the aviation industry – further narrowing options for planes navigating between Europe and Asia – with over 10 airlines cancelling or rerouting flights in the following week. Luton-based easyJet had previously suspended flights until April 21, but has now extended the ban to cover the entire summer season.

easyJet: Besides pausing flights to and from Israel – which only operates in and out of Tel Aviv in the country – easyJet routes remain unaffected. A spokesman said on April 16: ‘As a result of the continued evolving situation in Israel, easyJet has now taken the decision to suspend its flights to Tel Aviv for the remainder of the summer season. ‘Customers booked to fly on this route up to this date are being offered options, including a full refund.’

Lufthansa: German airline Lufthansa has suspended regular flights to and from Tel Aviv, Erbil (Iraq) and Amman (Jordan) up to and including April 16. Flights to Beirut (Lebanon) and Tehran (Iran) will remain suspended until at least April 18, with all Iranian airspace also being unused in that time. The decision made by Lufthansa Group also extends to its other subsidiary airlines: Eurowings, Swiss International Air Lines, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines.

KLM: Dutch Airline KLM, sister companies with Air France, has restarted flights to and from Tel Aviv from April 16. As a precaution following Iran’s strike, the airline had stopped flying over Israeli and Iranian air space. WizzAir: Ultra-low-cost airline WizzAir has also resumed flights to and from Israel as of April 16 after three days of cancellations. The Hungarian-headquartered company is offering flights to Tel Aviv from both Gatwick and Luton.

Finnair: Finnair has suspended flights over Iranian airspace until further notice. This may cause longer flight times on flights from Doha with a spokesperson saying the Finnish carrier will reroute over Egypt, resulting in delays of a ‘few minutes’. SAS: Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has rerouted flights between Copenhagen and Bangkok, which will result in slightly elongated flight times. This is because the route passes partially over the region of concern.

Qantas Airways: Australian airline Qantas is another which has had to reroute flights. Their route between Perth and London has been affected. A Qantas spokesperson said: ‘We’re temporarily adjusting the flight paths for our flights between Perth and London due to the situation in parts of the Middle East. ‘We’ll reach out to customers directly if there’s any change to their booking.’ Qantas said no flights between Perth, the capital of Western Australia state, and London had been paused or cancelled, but that flights on the route were operating on the adjusted flight path via Singapore. The Sydney-based airline’s other flights to and from London remained unchanged as they take different flight paths.

Air India: Air India has decided to temporarily stop flights to and from Israel due to the rising tensions. This will pause the airline’s weekly flights between New Delhi and Tel Aviv.

Emirates Airlines: Major Middle East airlines, including Emirates Airlines, said on April 15 they would resume operation in the region after cancelling or rerouting some flights. This includes routes in and out of Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.

Qatar Airways: Qatar Airways resumed some routes, including services to Amman, Beirut and Baghdad, on April 14. The following day, they also reopened their regular flights in Iran.

Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page and hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.