Air travel to and from the Middle East is facing severe disruption, with airlines describing the situation as the most significant setback since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Major international carriers — including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, and Virgin Atlantic — have temporarily halted services to and from parts of the Middle East. Current suspensions are expected to remain in place until at least Monday as tensions in the region continue to intensify.

Hundreds of UK Flights Affected

Data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows that 539 flights scheduled to operate between the UK and Middle Eastern destinations will not go ahead during the week beginning March 1. That equates to approximately 180,008 seats removed from the market.

In the short term, travellers should expect ongoing disruption. More than 70 departures per day from the UK are projected to be cancelled through Saturday. As of today, 49 UK-bound or departing flights to the Middle East have already been called off.

Global Impact Reaches Thousands of Flights

The disruption is not limited to the UK. By 10 am today, 1,555 flights worldwide operating to Middle Eastern destinations had been cancelled.

According to flight-tracking service FlightAware, nearly 2,800 flights were canceled on Saturday alone, followed by 3,156 on Sunday — highlighting the rapid escalation of operational challenges.

Meanwhile, airspace across several countries — including Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar — appeared largely devoid of traffic on Monday morning, based on live data from Flightradar24.

What This Means for Travellers

With airspace restrictions and airline suspensions continuing, passengers planning travel to or through the Middle East should closely monitor airline communications and flight status updates. Further schedule changes remain possible if the situation persists.

For now, the aviation industry faces one of its most serious disruptions in recent years, with ripple effects likely to extend beyond the region.