Since late February, following joint US and Israeli strikes and subsequent retaliatory attacks, the Middle East region has been experiencing an unprecedented aviation crisis. The closure of airspace over the UAE, Qatar, Iran, and other countries has delivered the heaviest blow to global air traffic since the Covid-19 pandemic. According to data from “Bloomberg,” the number of cancelled flights to major Middle East aviation hubs has already exceeded 23,000.

The Numbers: How Severe is the Hit to the Aviation Industry?

Data compiled by aviation analytics firm Cirium vividly illustrates the gravity of the situation. The Middle East, which serves as a crucial global transit hub connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa, is currently in a state of near-total blockade:

• Staggering Cancellation Rates: Out of 36,000 planned flights to or from the Middle East since February 28, more than half (over 20,000) have been cancelled.
• Lost Capacity: This massive volume of cancelled flights equates to approximately 4.4 million passenger seats.
• The Crisis Peak: In the first days of March, the proportion of cancelled flights from regional airports reached up to 65%. Bahrain and Qatar airports have been hit the hardest, with cancellation rates nearing 99%.

How Are Major Airlines Responding?

Due to severe security risks and direct threats to strategic infrastructure, the largest Middle Eastern carriers have been forced to suspend or drastically scale back their operations:

1. Emirates and Etihad: The world’s largest international airline, Emirates, has extended the suspension of flights to and from Dubai, operating only highly limited priority and repatriation flights. A similar situation applies to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.
2. Qatar Airways: The airline has suspended operations while Qatari airspace remains closed or strictly restricted.
3. International Carriers: Global airlines such as Lufthansa, Air India, and others have completely halted flights to the region, forcing them to reroute their Asian connections via much longer and significantly more expensive flight paths.

Chaos for Passengers and Skyrocketing Airfares

It is estimated that around 90,000 people travel in transit through the airports of Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi every single day. Currently, hundreds of thousands of passengers are stranded in the Persian Gulf region or other global airports, waiting for connecting flights.

To reach functioning airports, such as those in Saudi Arabia or Oman, travelers are forced to use convoluted and expensive land or alternative air routes. The prices for alternative flights bypassing the Middle East have surged disproportionately—in some cases, tickets from Europe to Asia are up to 900% more expensive.

Government Responses and Rescue Operations

• Safe Air Corridors: The UAE Ministry of Economy has announced the creation of special safe air corridors in cooperation with aviation authorities to facilitate up to 48 flights per hour. There are plans to increase this capacity to 80 flights per hour to gradually evacuate stranded travelers.
• Support for the Stranded: The UAE government has committed to covering the accommodation and food expenses for more than 20,000 transit passengers currently stuck at the country’s airports.
• Evacuation Warnings: As the situation escalates, the US State Department has issued orders for its citizens to immediately leave certain countries in the region via land borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia if commercial flights are unavailable.

Traveler Advice: If you have an upcoming flight to the Middle East or a layover scheduled through Dubai or Doha, it is highly recommended to contact your airline immediately, monitor airport website updates, and review your travel insurance policy regarding coverage for acts of war and force majeure events.